Are there other ways for Rishi Sunak to ‘power up Britain from Britain’?

By admin On Jul 31, 2023

You’d be forgiven for thinking some of today’s energy announcements feel a little familiar.

The government is talking about £20bn which it’s committing to carbon capture and storage (CCS) – money already promised in this year’s spring budget, though more detail came today.

It also reminded us it will soon issue more than 100 new oil and gas licences – something it started last year.

So why is it talking about these again now?

It is under pressure from its backbenches to water down some climate pledges.

The move also draws a dividing line with Labour, which proposed a block on new oil and gas drilling.

The government says the reason for these new licences is to improve energy security and because home-grown oil and gas are greener than imports.

These points don’t quite paint the full picture.

In terms of energy security, 78% of oil pumped in the UK is exported, so not immediately securing our energy, but adding oil to a market from which the UK then buys back products made from that oil, like jet fuel or plastic. And exporting it first makes it less green.

Gas, however, we use more of at home. But a lot of the big untapped Scottish fields have much more oil than gas.

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The government’s climate advisers say just because the UK will need some oil and gas for a few decades yet doesn’t mean it should continue to extract it here.

But the world has not reached peak oil yet. And as long as there is demand, governments will be worried that cutting supply could increase prices.

So what other options are there for a government under pressure from both its backbenches to keep costs down, and environmentalists reminding us that climate change is getting worse?

If the government wants to “power up Britain from Britain”, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday, it could exploit the UK’s untapped potential for more renewables.

That would require lifting the current blocks on new onshore wind projects, as it has promised, and building much more solar.

Solar can be built within a year, and while the “sun doesn’t always shine”, as critics often point out, having it can save gas used in power stations during the spring, summer, and autumn.

Wind and solar certainly won’t replace all the uses of oil and gas, but could help get our electricity grid off gas. They can also generate green hydrogen, which could then displace fossil fuels used elsewhere, such as jet fuel in planes.

The problem is they are both politically difficult.

Other options are insulating homes and electrifying things like home heating, industry and transport – sometimes involving a big upfront cost.

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UN climate figures recently wrote to Mr Sunak about his “lackadaisical” approach to climate, following something similar from British businesses and a resignation by minister Zac Goldsmith on similar grounds.

Without pledging extra green measures, Mr Sunak is opening himself up to further criticism that the UK’s role as a climate leader is fading.

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