Media releases

Energy Institute CEO Louise Kingham said:

“This breathes new life into decarbonising the UK and the skills that will make it happen.

“Taking energy efficiency seriously in homes, businesses and industry will cut emissions, bring down bills and increase productivity more effectively than anything else.

“Putting CCS back at the table and action to tackle emissions from heat, alongside renewables, nuclear and electric vehicles make this a credible plan.

“It goes some way to restoring the UK’s standing on the global climate change stage, as we look to the next round of UN talks hosted by Fiji in Bonn next month.

“But meeting the UK’s carbon targets is ultimately a numbers game and the real proof will be in the delivery.
“Hitting 57% emission reduction by 2030 in a cost-effective way, and realising the big industrial wins that come with that, calls for a no-surprises investment climate.

“This includes policies aimed at getting the best deal for billpayers, which must take a balanced, long-term view of consumer interest.”

According to the Energy Institute’s recent Energy Barometer 2017, which surveyed professionals working across the energy sector:

• Respondents considered energy efficiency the top priority measure to lower emissions at least cost, with 64% of respondents rating it as key to seizing the economic advantages of the shift to low carbon.
• EI members perceived carbon capture and storage (CCS) as the riskiest area of the energy system for investors because of policy uncertainty, with 73% of respondents rating the risk as either ‘high’ or ‘very high’.
• Members urged caution on price cap proposals. While affordability could be impacted positively, this is counterbalanced by greater concerns about impacts on investment, decarbonisation and competition. More than half of respondents felt that a price cap should not be introduced.

Ends.

Notes for editors

1.For any media enquiries please contact Neil Michie, Communications Manager, on +44 (0)20 7467 7132 or nmichie@energyinst.org

2.The Clean Growth Strategy was published today by the UK Government and can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/651232/BEIS_The_Clean_Growth_online.pdf

3.The Energy Barometer 2017 is available at: https://knowledge.energyinst.org/barometer

4.The Energy Institute (EI) brings energy expertise together.

We’re a unique global network with insight built over a century and spanning the whole energy system, from conventional oil and gas to the most innovative low carbon and energy efficient technologies.

We gather and share essential knowledge about energy, the skills that are helping us use it more wisely, and the good practice that keeps it safe and secure.

We articulate the voice of energy experts, taking the know-how of our 20,000 global members to the heart of the public debate.

And we’re an independent, not-for-profit, safe space for evidence-based collaboration - an honest broker between industry, academia and policy makers.

The EI is here for anyone who wants to better understand the extraordinary energy system on which we all depend.