Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | NOVEMBER 2021 | 9 Countdown to COP To what extent should utilities look to offset emissions as opposed to focusing on achieving zero carbon? "As a business based at the heart of the communities that we serve, our custom- ers' and stakeholders' views are incredibly important to us, and an integral part of our decision-making process. They feel strongly that we should focus our actions on directly reducing car- bon emissions, starting at the source, and we agree. That approach is embedded into our strategy and sustainable delivery plan." Mark Horsley, CEO, Northern Gas Networks "Carbon offsets have a minor role to play and are not a significant factor in our think- ing. Before coming to this decision we've held discussions with experts at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change at the University of Manchester and we've concluded that car- bon offsets are open to abuse, can leave the sector open to accusations of green washing, which isn't helpful, but more importantly we think they can be a distraction from the real task in hand, which is reaching net zero." Peter Emery "There is merit to both strategies – we have decided to take a hybrid approach, which focuses on reducing carbon as much as possible and using land-based solutions to offset the emissions that are not feasible to reduce to zero." Liz Barber What role can utilities play in helping to engage customers on the path to net zero? "There are various touchpoints – such as water use – especially hot water; avoiding sewer misuse; measures to help reduce sur- face water run-off – as well as linking our water-related messages to other environmen- tally friendly behaviour. "The challenges are diverse – financial – large outlay or small savings; unconscious behavioural issues; information overload/ competing topics. "For most, being a sustainable con- sumer shouldn't be a vocation or a pastime – it needs to be easy, not expensive, offering good experiences and ultimately 'normal'." Colin Skellett "One of the biggest challenges to engagement will be the per- ceived costs of going green. If we are to successfully tackle climate change, customers will need to see that they will be sup- ported and not end up worse off for doing so. This will involve ensuring there is the right mix of policy costs, government support and incentives for customers taking action, with targeted support available for those who are financially vulnerable or constrained against making changes straight away. This, along- side comprehensive public education cam- paigns and innovative technology solutions, will help us advance on this collective goal of tackling climate change together." Paul Spence, director of strategy and corporate affairs, EDF "There is an energy awareness gap that exists among con- sumers which can lead to misconceptions on the pro- gress being made to tackle climate change. For example, our research shows that 42% of Brits incor- rectly believe that Britain only gets up to 10 per cent of its electricity from zero and low- carbon energy sources. In fact, clean energy like wind, solar and nuclear account for an average of 55% of Britain's electricity mix. Carbon jargon is another factor preventing people from engaging on the issue of cli- mate change. Brits haven't heard of terms like decarbonisation (77%), carbon capture (74%), net zero (61%), green tariffs (49%) and carbon neutral (42%)." Duncan Burt, chief sustainability officer, National Grid What is your principle ask of government and regulators to help your company contribute to the net-zero push? "We'd like to see regulation change to allow more nature-based solutions, which will be key to reducing and offsetting emissions. Currently regulation favours hard engineer- ing because those solutions are usually quicker to deliver and have more certain outcomes, so it would be good to see more flexible regulatory framework that would allow us to take alternative approaches with- out being penalised. The government could help to direct this through its strategic policy statement to Ofwat. "Ofwat has indicated that its cost assess- ments will be based on a 2050 net-zero tra- jectory, rather than 2030. That would mean water companies aren't funded to deliver by their target of 2030. We'd like to see Ofwat prioritise the net-zero challenge and for them to support companies in tackling it." Liz Barber "For the government, I think it's essential they display more leadership and show ambition in supporting the industry to deliver for its consumers. The utilities indus- try has a major role to play in net zero and it needs all the support it can get from the government. The government also has a role to play in encouraging more collaboration to help tackle the technical and regulatory bar- riers to net zero in a similar manner to the Decc [Department of Environment & Climate Change] approach to reducing the cost of off- shore wind." Peter Emery "We want to see similar progressive poli- cies to those created for renewables, which would incentivise the investment needed to get negative emissions technologies like BECCS off the ground, kickstarting a whole new sector of the economy, creating exciting export opportunities for the UK, while dem- onstrating climate leadership." Will Gardiner "The 2020s must be a decade of delivery, and we'd urge the government to continue their focus on hydrogen: mandat- ing hydrogen-ready boilers by 2025 for homes, enabling hydro- gen blending and supporting investment in industrial clusters. Mandating hydrogen- ready boilers is 'no regrets' and will make sure households do not spend money on conventional gas boilers, which then have to be replaced in a relatively short period of time a¥erwards. Blending and clusters will support the development of the hydrogen production market we need to deliver our shared ambitions." Matt Hindle, head of net zero and sustainability, Wales & West Utilities "We're experiencing a climate emergency and large infrastructure projects take time that we don't have. We want to see the gov- ernment ramping up hydrogen village trials across the UK and running these in parallel, while committing to creating a hydrogen city by 2030." Mark Horsley "It's important for the regulator to recognise that sometimes the most 'efficient' option for investment and operation are not necessar- ily the best outcome for our climate, envi- ronment or customers. A more holistic view of what real public value is and the relative benefits of differing solutions is needed." Heidi Mottram • To read the full Q&As and many more, visit https://utilityweek.co.uk/category/ countdown-to-cop/

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