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12 | 21st - 27th February 2014 | utILIty WeeK Interview "I don't see how it can be unfavourable and it might be favourable, but I do think it would be quite valuable in rebuilding consumer trust." The frictions between green Conserva- tives and their more traditional compatri- ots became apparent recently when climate change sceptic Peter Lilley MP clashed with Yeo during a select committee session. Lil- ley repeatedly questioned a witness and accused her of providing "irrelevant answers" about calculating future global temperature changes. Yeo intervened and said Dr Emily Shuckburgh, from the Royal Meteorological Society, had given a "thorough and detailed" response. He asked his Conservative col- league to curtail his questioning so the committee could move on. Lilley branded this "absolutely disgraceful". There are some profound differences within the party, oen characterised as between green, pro- renewables Conservatives and "dash for gas" supporters who claim cheap gas will bring energy bills down. Yeo says he acknowledges the concerns of his colleagues even though he disagrees with them in what he calls a "lively debate" within his party. "Where I do have a concern is that some people take a very short-term view and say fossil fuels are going to be the future," he says. "I think that ducks the possibility – and I would say probability – about climate change and greenhouse gas concentrations." He goes on to say that while the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) has so far produced a "derisorily low" carbon price, "that may not be the case 10 or 15 years from now". This is significant because of the long-term view that investors in the energy sector take, making, in his view, low carbon energy sources "not just environ- mentally right but economically right as well". "Low fossil fuel economies could become the low cost economies of the future," Yeo says, before adding that this arguments about a more prosperous economic future on the back of green technologies is actually happening now. "If you look at the CBI figures in the past five or six years, when the overall economy has stagnated, the low carbon industries have continued to expand. "It's very interesting that growth has been running at three times the economy as a whole, so why wouldn't you want to be part of that?" However, Yeo refuses to rule out all fossil fuels. He accepts that gas will play an important role as a transi- tion fuel, taking the country through to the 2020s, espe- cially as old plants are decommissioned and new nuclear plants are being built. New nuclear will not arrive on the system until the mid-2020s. "We need investment in gas urgently to see us through now, and it will see us through to the 2020s," he says. "We also need investment in other low carbon technolo- gies as well." Yeo is convinced that there is a range of low carbon technologies that can help the UK bridge the capacity gap it faces, with onshore wind and energy from waste having roles to play. He adds that solar is by far the most mature renewable technology and that "within a decade solar might be competitive and might not need any sup- port at all". One renewable technology he is less certain about is offshore wind, which he concedes "seems quite expensive". "I think we'll see much more awareness about the rel- ative costs of low carbon technologies as they are trying to use the money available under the Levy Control Framework as efficiently as possible. "So why pay for the really expensive ones if we can get some cheaper ones?" One fuel that Yeo has written off is coal ("I don't think unabated coal has a long- term future") and he even has his doubts over how successful carbon capture and storage (CCS) will be because "it seems like a long way off ". Investigating how likely CCS is to become a commer- cial reality for the UK is one of the latest areas of inquiry for the ECCC, and the chair is looking to make up for lost time having temporarily stood down from the post fol- lowing accusations from undercover journalists that he breached lobbying rules. Yeo was cleared in November by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, but the episode has le its mark. The South Suffolk MP is obviously disappointed with the outcome of the postal vote of local party members, which he demanded take place aer his initial deselec- tion by the local association in November. However, the ECCC chair has taken the deselection with grace and says he will give his "full and unqualified support" to who- ever is chosen to fill his shoes. So, does knowing he hasn't got to fight for re-election in May next year affect Yeo's mindset as a member of the coalition government? "It's quite useful to have one or two people who no longer have ambitions for promotion within the government," he says. "It makes us, perhaps, more independent and sometimes allows us to speak with a certain authority. "I'm not trying to please the whips all the time. I can say exactly what I think, and I think that is a strength." Rather than fading into the background, it looks as though Yeo wants to remain at the front of the green Con- servative agenda, keeping the government – and prime minister David Cameron – honest in fulfilling the pledge of making this the "greenest government ever". Yeo does admit that green Conservatives number only a "handful", but he says that knowing he and the other green Tories are the minority "makes me more deter- mined" to press forward with the environmental agenda. "I think it is important we remain determined to hold the government to the course on which it started out." The key test for the greens within the blue camp of the coalition will be the "big debate" around the fourth car- bon budget. "That's going to be a litmus test in my view," he says. "If they weaken that, that will show they're mov- ing slightly away from the agenda of being the greenest government ever." Not that the ECCC chair thinks that was a particularly demanding benchmark for the coalition to set itself in the first place "as we've never had a very green govern- ment of this country", although he does say it is "better than nothing". "I think that it is just a reminder that in this business you have got to be on your guard the whole time," he says. His enforced absence at the end of last year came as energy became the hot political topic and grabbed the front pages of newspapers on a daily basis, something that Yeo found frustrating. "I was delighted to get back and I think my colleagues were delighted to have me back. The committee is bet- ter operating at full strength and I think we've hit the ground running." A lot can happen in 15 months, and one thing's for sure: Yeo won't disappear quietly. "The level of distrust in energy companies is such that the only way to rebuild it is to end vertical integration"