Utility Week

6 | 8TH - 14TH NOVEMBER 2019 | UTILITY WEEK News Rob Jeffery, director of public affairs firm Field Consulting, is "cautiously optimistic" that room will be found for energy and cli- mate change issues during the campaign. He says: "Environment-related issues will be as high priority as they have ever been. With net zero, there's been a degree of politi- cal one-upmanship. They are all trying to outbid one another to appeal to younger vot- ers. Newly enfranchised voters who have been joining school protests will see this as a big priority and want to see a party that speaks to their world view." Another factor pushing the parties into action is the UK's decision to host the UN climate change talks in Glasgow at the end of next year. The timing of the event means that which- ever party forms the next government will be under pressure to demonstrate that it is tak- ing action on climate change issues. Black says: "Whoever is in government knows that all eyes will be turned on the UK and its claim to be a world leader. "Unless they [the government] are on track with net zero targets by the end of the year, the environmental NGOs [non-govern- mental organisations] will be kicking up merry hell and it will be really embarrassing for whoever is in power. "This manifesto process is really impor- tant because it's a chance for each political party to put something ambitious on the table to demonstrate they are starting to deliver before that happens." Inside story G eneral election campaigns are o'en dismissed as little more than exer- cises in generating hot air. But heat, or more accurately global warming, looks set to be one of the more important issues in the run-up to this year's poll. The issue hasn't featured that promi- nently in past contests. Even during the 2015 general election, ex-secretary of state for energy and climate change Ed Miliband famously prioritised fuel bills over saving the planet. This pat- tern continued during the 2017 campaign when an energy price cap was one of ex-prime minister Theresa May's signature pledges. The equation looks very dif- ferent this year, with mounting public concern about climate change push- ing the issue up the political agenda. "It will be a priority and I can't see how it won't be, given how worried people are," says Amy McConachie, head of external affairs at the Renewable Energy Association (REA). Richard Black, director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), agrees: "With the exception of the Brexit Party, we are seeing political parties competing for the green vote, which we know is massively important for young voters." Probably for the first time in a UK general election campaign, the climate will be an issue that political parties will be competing over for votes, he says: "Whoever is elected is going to have to address renewables and net zero as a priority." Jeffery agrees: "Any new government will be ten months away from hosting the most significant international conference we have had in years and will want to talk credibly about these issues and show some global leadership." Questions of emphasis While it's true that there is consensus sur- rounding the need to act on climate change, individual party platforms will differ on how radical that needs to be. The Liberal Democrats have set 2045 as the date when the UK should be aiming for decarbonisation. The Scottish Nationalist Party-led Scottish government has recently passed legislation setting the same date for the country to become a net zero zone, with an interim target of a 90 per cent cut in emis- sions on 1990 levels by 2040. But it's Labour that has been making the weather on climate change since the election date was announced last week. The party's leader, Jeremy Corbyn, put action on climate change at the heart of his campaign launch speech, warning that this year's election is the "last chance" to tackle global warming. This focus suits Labour's desire to talk about anything other than its nuanced posi- tion on Brexit while highlighting an issue that will get out the youth vote, its staunch- est set of supporters by age group. To ram home the point, last weekend saw Labour pledge to invest £60 billion to improve the energy efficiency of "nearly all" of the UK's 27 million homes by 2030. A combination of improved insulation Countdown to a showdown In 2015 it was all about consumer bills and price caps, but in December's general election the main parties are slugging it out to establish their climate change credentials, says David Blackman. "With net zero, there's been a degree of political one- upmanship." ROB JEFFERY, DIRECTOR FIELD CONSULTING

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