Energy Policy

19 May 2019

The national grid would be nationalised under a Labour government so that £13 billion would no longer be paid to shareholders each year and more investment would be targeted at decarbonisation, the Shadow Business Secretary, Rebecca Long Bailey, announced today. Heat and electricity would be made a “human right for all” under the radical new policy which has the personal support of Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour party leader. A Labour party spokesperson said: “Privatisation of the UK’s energy grid is ripping off customers. 25 percent of energy bills is paid out to network companies. This is used to line the pockets of shareholders, with over £13 billion paid out in dividends over the last five years.”

Ecologist 16th May 2019 read more »

BRINGING ENERGY HOME: Labour’s proposal for publicly owned energy networks.

Labour Party 16th May 2019 read more »

Labour’s energy plans are nothing less than state-sponsored robbery. ver since the shock result of the EU referendum, business has largely been consumed by one issue: Brexit. The overwhelming majority of business figures, at least those that lead large companies, backed Remain. These days, something much more troubling is keeping our captains of industry awake at night: the prospect of Corbyn-led government.

Telegraph 18th May 2019 read more »

Liz Truss: After years of flirting with the idea, we’ve finally seen Labour’s plans to renationalise the energy industry. As always, far from being a panacea, this shiny, expensive policy would turn out to be a disaster. We can rehearse the arguments about why privatisation works and nationalisation doesn’t. From supermarkets to mobile phone providers, having more choice is good. It forces firms to take their customers’ views seriously, punishes those who take them for granted, and creates openings for upstarts to come through with a better product at a lower price. Just like all companies, energy firms compete with each other to offer the best price and service. There is more to do, but our reforms mean…

Telegraph 15th May 2019 read more »

Jeremy Corbyn’s cut-price power grab. Labour’s refusal to pay the going rate for nationalising the utilities could make Britain into a pariah nation, warn Tommy Stubbington and Rachel Millard. In a document titled “Bringing Energy Home”, Labour said a return to public ownership was necessary to lay the groundwork for a “Green Industrial Revolution”, accusing bosses such as Pettigrew of neglecting investment in infrastructure in favour of paying themselves inflated salaries and handing excessive dividend payouts to shareholders. Labour said the amount of compensation handed to the owners of companies such as National Grid should “be decided by parliament”. That phrase, sure to have sent chills through boardrooms, highlights the most contentious aspect of the party’s thinking on renationalisation: the idea that a Corbyn government would pay less than market value to bring utilities back under state control, making deductions for “asset stripping” under private ownership, and state subsidies. Citizens Advice, the consumer group, says companies such as National Grid are making “eyewatering” and “unjustified” profits at the expense of higher energy bills.

Times 19th May 2019 read more »

Corbyn the energy-sector snatcher makes the SNP look Thatcherite. Power to the people! Well, power networks, at any rate. Jeremy Corbyn’s big idea to nationalise the companies that control the nation’s £62bn energy infrastructure — the pipes and cables bit — at less than their market value must have sounded like a pretty clever wheeze when he first thought of it. What could go wrong? I mean, appropriation of private property always went down well at the north Islington branch meetings of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Stalinist Doctrine in my misspent youth. Shareholders appear to be the new kulaks. In the event of a Labour election victory, investors in affected companies, including Glasgow-based (but Spanish-owned) Scottish Power, and Perth-based SSE, would face a severe haircut, since compensation would be determined by parliament rather than market value. Many of those investors will be ordinary people who bought shares for the first time when Margaret Thatcher privatised the energy sector in the 1980s. Once the shareholders are dealt with, Labour would establish new local Soviets, sorry, energy boards, staffed by political appointees and environmentalists, to manage the network.

Times 19th May 2019 read more »

The official advice that the Committee on Climate Change recently gave to Government, that the UK should become a ‘net zero nation’ by 2050, will, if adopted, change more than the speed and eventual depth of decarbonisation. A net zero target changes decision-making qualitatively and quantitatively… in at least five ways. 1, It’s the whole economy, stupid. The UK’s existing target, of reducing emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050, encourages a significant degree of woolly thinking from both business lobby groups and Government. Any business sector or any individual big company can see the remaining 20% and think ‘I’ll have a slice of that’… and plan its business as though it will get it. 2. Net zero changes the choices. In some cases, the goal of eliminating emissions will lead to different choices than a goal of reducing emissions. In simple terms; if your choice cannot get to zero or very close, it is a poor choice. Home heating is a great example here. Without doubt, the easiest and least disruptive way to reduce carbon emissions here is low-carbon gas. We see examples of projects exploring this up and down the country already – inject some biogas into the grid, inject some hydrogen – lower the use of fossil gas, and thereby trim emissions. With both biogas and hydrogen there are supply constraints and alternative users clamouring for the product – industry will undoubtedly be using more hydrogen, and we’re starting to see hydrogen trains entering service. The manufacturing processes for these gases also need to be guaranteed zero-carbon. Unless government is sure these problems can be solved, and sufficient zero-carbon gases available in 2050 and thereafter, then a gas switch, convenient though it would be, cannot be the nationwide choice in a net zero world, where it might have been in an 80% world. 3. 2050 is a cut-off… which means acting now. 4. There is no long grass for ‘difficult’ decisions. 5. ‘Net zero nation’ – but not ‘net zero island’ Assuming ministers accept the Committee’s advice, the UK will be far from being the only nation moving to net zero. Within Europe, Sweden, Norway and Denmark are already committed – Iceland too.

ECIU 13th May 2019 read more »

John Cossham last drove a car the day he passed his test in 1994. He took his last flight in 1997 and never renewed his passport. “I won’t leave the UK again,” he says. The 53-year-old bearded Yorkshireman has been calculating his carbon footprint since before most members of Extinction Rebellion were born. According to the Resurgence carbon calculator, he emits 2.3 tonnes of carbon a year, less than one quarter of the UK average. Now – with the threat of global climate collapse on the horizon – it looks like the rest of the world will have to put this distant academic concept into practice. We need to cut down on meat, travel and change the way we power our homes, experts say.

Independent 18th May 2019 read more »

Energy Policy

18 May 2019

Brian Wilson: Why energy nationalisation plan is a good idea. Vested interests decried Labour’s plan to nationalise the National Grid but there are good reasons to do so. Amidst the fog of Brexit, it was a relief to hear of a substantial policy initiative emerging this week, namely Labour’s strategy document Bringing Energy Home. Its main thrust is that gas and electricity transmission and distribution systems should be brought back into public ownership while up to two million houses throughout the UK would be equipped with solar panels. The immediate focus was not on the merits of these proposals (which are considerable) but on the level of compensation that might be paid to departing shareholders. Anything less than full market value (reflecting the gargantuan profitability of monopoly businesses) would be an affront to all we hold dear, or so we were told by an array of self-interested voices. I doubt if that plea will carry much weight among the masses who are reasonably well aware that, from the outset, gas and electricity privatisations have been massive rip-offs – first of assets which had been funded by decades of public investment and then of consumers who have paid through the nose for the sector’s vast profitability. However, the law and justice are not the same thing. Whatever scheme of compensation a hypothetical Labour government might come up with, it would be tested in the courts. Meanwhile, it is not worth wasting time on discussing the terms of compensation as opposed to the principle of what is proposed. If, as we are told, the country and the world face a climate emergency and we really must do more to achieve a decarbonised energy mix, the question of whether public ownership is a good idea becomes easy to answer. Of course it is. Scotland’s energy history offers text-book examples of government’s critical role. Under public ownership, we became large-scale exporters of electricity. The hydro schemes of the 1940s and 50s would never have happened without political direction and enforcement. Even if a commercial operator had wanted to build them – unlikely – what would a regulator have made of them? Equally, without the power of the public balance sheet, nuclear stations would not have been built at Hunterston or Torness. Whatever one thinks of nuclear power, it cannot be disputed that these mighty engines of the Scottish economy have given us half a century of secure supply and low-carbon electricity. Whether or not Labour’s plan is implemented, it should spark serious consideration in all parties of whether a system created to facilitate privatisation is capable of meeting the new challenges. We should also be reminded of just how much we owe to past public ownership and vision.

Scotsman 18th May 2019 read more »

Public ownership used to be easy. The public authority would just acquire shares in a private corporation. And a private concern would then become a public asset, a private monopoly transformed into a public service. Many socialists still think nationalisation can be simple, mere questions of political will and a parliamentary majority. The government needs only to want to do it. The UK’s opposition Labour party is currently led by such socialists. They genuinely are seeking to take firmly back into the government’s hands various privatised services, especially “key utilities” – rail, energy, water and the Royal Mail. And a prospect of a Labour government in the UK is a serious one. But how easy will this be, even if the political will and parliamentary majority are there? Can what was done in the 1940s, and to a lesser extent the 1970s, be done again? Looking at the current utilities landscape, there is one glaring difference from the postwar era: regulation. Each of the utility sectors is now regulated by statutory body, and usually in accordance with EU law (which the UK would continue to follow during any Brexit transition period). Given this regulation, there is the issue of whether it matters if the providers are in public or private hands – the regulatory model would (or should) mean the outcomes would be the same. Indeed, the frequently asserted objections to private ownership can or could be cured by regulation rather than nationalisation, and at far lesser expense. “Rip-off prices” and “excessive dividends” are capable of quicker and more immediate remedies than wholesale public acquisitions.

FT 17th May 2019 read more »

Another climate report and another urgent call for action, along with a dizzying array of graphs and figures. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC), who advise the UK government on policies and planning for a low carbon economy, have produced their analysis and recommendations on how to stop UK’s contribution to global warming by 2050. This follows the “Paris Agreement” signed in December 2015 where the UK, along with 196 other countries, agreed to reduce their nation’s greenhouse gas emissions in efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The CCC’s excellent and thorough report makes for some tough reading; not for its 277 pages and plethora of statistics and figures, but for the scale of collective effort required. The benign-sounding estimate of costs – 1-2% of GDP – disguises the extent of system change and efforts required, not only of government and businesses, but households as well.

Sussex Energy Group 17th May 2019 read more »

Energy Policy – Scotland

18 May 2019

An action plan to protect the rights of energy consumers and give them a say in how Scotland moves towards affordable clean energy has been launched by the Scottish Government. The Energy Consumer Action Plan has been developed in collaboration with an expert advisory group that included consumer groups, academics and the regulator Ofgem. Its actions include: establishing an independent Consumers Commission to give consumers a more powerful voice in Scottish and Great Britain energy policy; developing a charter committing signatories to address consumer issues; introducing a statutory duty on public authorities to place people’s interests at the heart of policy and regulatory decision-making. Jamie Stewart, energy policy manager at Citizens Advice Scotland, said: “Some 25% of households in Scotland are in fuel poverty, with the figure rising to 52% for those who rely on electricity as their main source of heating. These figures are far too high and we’re pleased that the Scottish Government have taken on board many of our suggestions for consumer improvements in the Action Plan published today.”

Scottish Housing News 15th May 2019 read more »

Scotland stepped up its response to the ‘climate emergency’ earlier this week as Glasgow and Edinburgh adopted zero-carbon targets in swift succession and the Scottish Parliament provided further details on how it plans to meet its new target of building a net zero emission economy by 2045. ScottishPower pledged on Monday to help make Glasgow the first UK city to reach net-zero carbon emissions, setting a target for meeting the goal of 2045. In related news, SSE announced this week that the last of 84 offshore wind turbines was commissioned this week at Beatrice, Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm. The company said the project – which is a joint venture development led by SSE Renewables, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Red Rock Power Limited – has been completed on time and under budget after three years of construction. The final 7MW Siemens Gamesa turbine was installed in the Outer Moray Firth, around 13km off the coast of Caithness, bringing the site’s total installed capacity to 588MW – enough to provide clean, low carbon energy to over 450,000 homes.

Business Green 17th May 2019 read more »

Energy Policy

17 May 2019

Heating and electricity will become a “human right” under a Labour government, the party will announce tomorrow. Labour will take the national grid out of the hands of private shareholders and prevent consumers being ripped-off, shadow business secretary Rebecca Long Bailey will say. Around £13 billion in dividends has been paid out to shareholders in the last five years, according to a review of network owners’ company accounts from 2014 to 2018. Under Labour’s plans, new public agencies would have the power and responsibility to tackle fuel poverty, protect energy as a human right and ensure that targets to reduce climate change are met. The plans also include the creation of a new national energy agency (NEA) to replace the National Grid, while 14 regional energy agencies (REAs) would assume the functions of the existing distribution network operators. Where local authorities want to accelerate the energy transition, they would be able to set up municipal energy agencies (MEAs) and take over responsibility for ownership and operation of distribution networks from the REAs. In addition, a Labour government would support the establishment of local energy communities (LECs). This would develop small-scale energy generation and engage with distribution at the micro level of housing estates, streets or small villages. LECs will be community-owned and non-profit-making.

Morning Star 15th May 2019 read more »

The national energy agency, linked with 14 regional energy agencies given statutory responsibility to decarbonise electricity and heat, ensure all households have access affordable energy, roll out electric vehicle charging infrastructure and reduce fuel poverty, is so powerful because it combines the battle against climate change with the fight for social justice. Labour is making the case that cleaning up the world needn’t come at the expense of living standards but can be part of a strategy of national renewal that creates jobs, warms homes and saves lives. National Energy Action notes that the winters of 2017-18 and 2018-19 each saw over 10,000 people die as a result of living in a cold home. Fuel poverty is a crippling problem for millions. The organisation noted that “the number dying through cold each year is similar to the amount who die from prostate or breast cancer” and that a higher proportion of British people die from cold each winter than in any other European country except Ireland — a scandal when many European countries face far harsher winters.

Morning Star 15th May 2019 read more »

Alan Simpson: The unthinkable is happening. Parliament, public institutions and the press are waking to the fact that climate change can only be constrained by systems change. This recognition is still in its infancy, but it is already unstoppable. Since the 2017 general election, there have been ample opportunities for MPs to show real political leadership on the climate crisis. They never did. Instead, Parliament has preferred to play Trivial Pursuit with Brexit absurdities. Social movements had to step into the vacuum; addressing the big picture issues politicians had been choosing to ignore. Britain’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) would not have had the political space to bring forward their own “pull your finger out” report without the occupations that brought London streets to a halt. Nor would they have been listened to. The latest UN report on species extinctions now gets treated as evidence, not argument. Politicians of all shades queue up, calling for a programme to deliver the CCC rescue plan. Few grasp the upheavals involved (or that, in itself, this will still not be enough). Over 60 per cent of what the CCC calls for involves behaviour change; all of which is doable. What they duck is that you won’t get behaviour change without systems change. How can Labour deliver climate stability if large parts of the party are still locked into airport expansions, fossil fuel subsidies, expanding road programmes and the illusion of a new era of global free-trade deals? Physics tells us there are no “slow track’ survival options left. A better starting point lies somewhere between Extinction Rebellion and the CCC. To join in, Labour may need to tear up whatever has been its draft manifesto for the next election, replacing it with a new “climate emergency” one. Former Labour leader Ed Miliband was right in telling Radio 4 that the British economy must be “put on a war footing to tackle climate change.” The answer isn’t to go building more runways, motorways or shopping malls. What we need is to replant forests, green our cities, and give pollinators places to feed, breed and shelter in. And for the public, we need a national programme to green the nation’s habitat too; delivering warm homes that also produce more energy than they consume.

Morning Star 16th May 2019 read more »

The Labour Party has announced plans to install solar one 1.75 million homes as part of a huge energy sector shake-up. The plans would see solar installed on 1 million social homes in a bid to tackle fuel poverty, while a series of interest free loans, grants and regulatory changes will help enable an additional 750,000 domestic installs. Full details of the plans are to be announced by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn later today. The party said the policies stood to create nearly 17,000 jobs, while raising as much as £66 million for local authorities through the export of surplus generation. Corbyn said that the party’s self-styled Green Industrial Revolution would benefit homeowners and revive parts of the country through the creation of new industries.

Solar Power Portal 16th May 2019 read more »

Edie 16th May 2019 read more »

PV Magazine 16th May 2019 read more »

Labour’s plans to renationalise the electricity network risk damaging investor confidence in Britain while undermining the achievements of privatisation. It was awkward for the Tories that details of Labour’s plans to nationalise the electricity sector were leaked on the same day that news emerged of government plans to renationalise probation services. Awkward because the fiasco over the 2014 probation reforms at the hands of Chris Grayling (who else?) as justice secretary was a reminder that not all privatisations have worked out well. The decision to bring probation services back into the public sector at a cost to taxpayers of £500 million follows recent private sector failures in which prisons, the rail operating company Railtrack, rail operating franchises such as the east coast mainline and a series of outsourced services provided by the likes of Carillion and Interserve, which collapsed last year, were brought back under government control. Nonetheless, what Labour is proposing goes far beyond restoring the provision of some services to public control. It intends to use public money to buy the shares of National Grid, which operates the electricity transmission network, and hand responsibility for electricity distribution from private companies to 14 regional energy agencies. Other sectors slated for renationalisation include the postal service, water and railways. Labour says such moves are justified because the privatised utilities have been making excessive profits that could be better used to reduce bills for customers and boost investment, for example in building out the electricity transmission network to parts of the country with high renewable power potential.

Times 17th May 2019 read more »

Major international infrastructure investors are growing increasingly concerned over rise of the nationalisation agenda in the UK, according to National Grid’s chief executive. In the wake of a Labour Party policy pledge to seize control of energy networks John Pettigrew warned that concern over the UK’s political landscape was growing, particularly among the company’s international investors. The FTSE 100 energy giant stands to be stripped of its role as the operator of Britain’s high voltage energy lines and the wider energy system under the nationalisation plans unveiled by the opposition party today. The energy grids owned by SSE, Scottish Power and a string of regional network companies are also in Labour’s sights, after decades of private investment from infrastructure and pension funds. The party has warned that it would name its own price to snap up the £69bn industry once it has deducted a string of costs from companies. “The thought that the Labour Party might not pay fair value for an investment, if it were to happen, is of course causing concern for investors,” Mr Pettigrew said.

Telegraph 16th May 2019 read more »

The chief executive of National Grid has warned that Labour’s renationalisation proposals would hold back the UK’s move to cleaner energy and mean higher prices for customers, as the company reported an £1.8bn annual profit. National Grid, which runs the UK’s national electricity network, said its profit for the 12 months to 31 March was down by nearly a third from £2.7bn the year before. It wrote off £137m of costs spent to connect two nuclear UK projects in Cumbria and Wales that were cancelled, and also took a financial hit from a seven-month labour dispute at its US business. Mounting a staunch defence against Labour’s proposals to renationalise the FTSE 100 company, John Pettigrew, the chief executive, described them as a huge distraction. He indicated that nationalising power networks could lead to higher costs, which would be passed on to consumers, who pay for energy transmission through their utility bills.

Guardian 16th May 2019 read more »

Labour plans to minimise the cost by taking into account “pension fund deficits; asset stripping since privatisation; stranded assets; the state of repair of assets; and state subsidies given to the energy companies since privatisation”. In other words, it will say that the lack of investment in the networks, previous subsidies, excessive profit taking and the holes in existing final salary pensions schemes should be deducted from the bill. Critics dismiss Labour’s argument that its plan mimics Gordon Brown’s nationalisation of Northern Rock in 2008. They say it was a bust company and effectively worthless. Railtrack is a better example. Even though Tony Blair agreed to pay £2.50 a share for the rail network operator, the government spent years fighting shareholders who wanted £9.15 a share. The same lengthy court battles await a Corbyn-led administration.

Guardian 16th May 2019 read more »

Faster, deeper, fairer – how the Committee on Climate Change’s recommendations could be improved. Total cumulative emissions are what really matter, argues Friends of the Earth’s Mike Childs. Every fraction of a degree matters when it comes to climate change; particularly to the most vulnerable people around the world, but also to habitats such as coral reefs.

Business Green 16th May 2019 read more »

Energy Policy – Scotland

17 May 2019

Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of hypocrisy after cutting funding for new projects to fight global warming, despite having declared a “climate emergency”. Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Green leader, said reduction of the Climate Challenge Fund was a “serious mistake” and called on the first minister to reverse the cuts. The fund was launched in 2008 to support projects that encourage people to fight climate change by actions such as reducing waste and using greener transport. Mr Harvie cited research published on The Ferret website, which said that funding for new projects had been cut from £5 million in 2018-19 to just over £2 million in 2019-20. The number of new projects slipped from 65 to 22. In the latest financial year 43 projects were turned down due to lack of funds.

Times 17th May 2019 read more »

Energy Policy

16 May 2019

A well-known consulting firm says wind and solar capacity could replace the need for additional nuclear power in the UK, but some form of support for them will probably still be needed. Findings from Cornwall Insight’s Benchmark Power Curve – a comprehensive market and asset-level power price modelling service – show that meeting UK’s fourth and fifth carbon budgets without commissioning new nuclear capacity is a real possibility. Not only this, but the forecasts predict that meeting these targets can be achieved at a lower cost compared to developing a new fleet of reactors. Cornwall Insight head of new business Ben Hall said, “This latest forecast from Cornwall Insight marks a notable shift away from previous thinking that nuclear generation and new build plants are a crucial step towards meeting our carbon targets. “Continual improvements to the development and operation of renewable technologies such as wind and solar see them become increasingly cost-effective, allowing the UK to meet its targets without the need for additional new nuclear capacity.”

Offshore Wind Journal 16th May 2019 read more »

Labour have announced plans to fit solar panels to 1.75m homes lived in by socially housed or low-income households as part of its promised “green industrial revolution” to try to combat climate change and boost jobs. The programme is due to be announced by Jeremy Corbyn and the shadow business secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey, at an event in Yorkshire on Thursday. It would involve solar panels being fitted to a million social homes as part of scheduled updates to social housing. Labour said this would provide enough power to give them free energy, saving an average of £117 a year on bills. Any spare power would be put into the national grid. Another 750,000 low-income households would have the chance to have the panels fitted through interest-free loans or grants. The party estimated the policy would create 16,900 jobs and save 7.1m tonnes of CO2 a year, equivalent to taking 4m cars off the roads. It comes after Labour’s pledge in February to introduce a wider set of policies to simultaneously tackle the climate crisis and create large numbers of high-skilled jobs in the green economy. The idea echoes the green new deal proposed by left-wing Democrats in the US, and proposals put forward by the Green party in the UK. As part of the Labour plan, the party has committed to making sure at least 60% of the UK’s electricity and heat comes from renewable sources by 2030. The plan will involve what Labour calls a “just transition”, allowing people currently working in carbon-emitting industries to move into skilled green jobs.

Guardian 15th May 2019 read more »

Business Green 15th May 2019 read more »

Times 16th May 2019 read more »

The solar plan came as Labour published plans to hand responsibility for the UK’s power networks to streets, villages and housing estates. But the move is controversial because shareholders that own the National Grid would be unlikely to be paid the market value for their assets, estimated at £64 billion. Matthew Fell of the Confederation of British Industry said: “As drafted, these proposals amount to hanging a closed sign above the UK. He warned that renationalisation could hit the pockets of nearly six million pensioners whose funds would be affected by speculation. A National Grid spokeswoman said the proposals would delay progress already being made to move to green energy.

Daily Mirror 15th May 2019 read more »

The Scottish government already have a programme of installing solar panels on social homes, and in March, announced a multi-million-pound solar scheme for social housing in Aberdeenshire.

Environment Journal 15th May 2019 read more »

Labour will announce plans on Thursday to seize back control of Britain’s energy network from private shareholders in an effort to fight climate change and end fuel poverty. Jeremy Corbyn and the shadow business secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey, are expected to say that heat and electricity should be a human right for all and nationalisation of the network is key to decarbonising the economy. Under Labour’s plan, companies that control the UK’s £62bn energy infrastructure – the pipes and cables that supply homes and businesses with gas and electricity – would be taken back into state control soon after a Labour election win. The CBI said Labour’s plans would make the country poorer, hinder efforts to tackle climate change and threaten a return to the frequent power cuts of the past. Matthew Fell, the business lobby group’s chief UK policy director, said: “These proposals amount to hanging a ‘closed’ sign above the UK, with renationalisation delivering a triple whammy neither citizens nor the country can afford. “Much-needed investment is drying up under Labour’s threats, which seriously risks hampering efforts to tackle climate change and puts in doubt the innovation that will deliver a net-zero carbon economy. “These plans would threaten significant improvements in network resilience made since privatisation. No one wants a return to the frequent power cuts that were a feature of nationalised industries of yesteryear.”

Guardian 15th May 2019 read more »

It wants to create a National Energy Agency to own and maintain transmission infrastructure. Labour said its nationalisation pledge would “usher in a Green Industrial Revolution” and tackle climate change. But National Grid – the UK’s largest transmitter of electricity and gas – said the proposal was the “last thing” that was needed. It said the Labour plan would hinder the shift to green energy. Labour also set out plans to put solar panels on nearly two million homes.

BBC 16th May 2019 read more »

The i News 16th May 2019 read more »

Herald 15th May 2019 read more »

BRITAIN faces a wave of blackouts after Jeremy Corbyn laid out plans to put critical energy infrastructure into the hands of parish councils as part of a £65billion nationalisation. In radical proposals Labour proposed bringing National Grid and every regional distribution network in the country back into the public sector.

The Sun 16th May 2019 read more »

The Labour Party’s decision to flip the switch on plans to bring energy under state control has sparked outrage in an already embattled market. The looming risk posed by Jeremy Corbyn’s threat to nationalise the UK’s £60bn energy networks industry has stalked the City for months. It first emerged in 2017, softened by vague political rhetoric and doubts over the party’s chances in a general election. Since then, the unraveling of political norms in Westminster has sent shivers through the City as the hazy threat of a Labour government came into sharper focus. Now the party’s blueprint for wresting back control the British energy system’s arteries and infrastructure have been laid bare in a leaked nationalisation plan. The sweeping strategy goes far beyond the City’s worst fears.

Telegraph 15th May 2019 read more »

An ‘enormous distraction’ or an essential step in an energy revolution? The jury’s out on Labour’s plans, writes Madeleine Cuff. Is it time to give power to the people? Labour yesterday released details of its bold (some might say fool-hardy) plans to renationalise the UK’s electricity and heating grids, a move it argued is essential to tackle climate change.

Business Green 16th May 2019 read more »

Michael Gove today refused to commit to climate change guidance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 – five years later than the deadline the Scottish Government has set. The UK environment secretary told MSPs that he could make no announcement on whether the government would adopt the Committee on Climate Change report recommendations. Appearing before Holyrood’s environment committee, via video link, to discuss the impact of Brexit, Mr Gove was pressed on when the UK government would respond to the CCC report. He said: “I’m afraid I can’t make that announcement. One of the things about the UK government structure, in the same way as the Scottish Government has overlapping responsibilities, there are overlapping and separate responsibilities between mine and Greg Clark’s department [business, energy and industrial strategy], and his is the lead department when it comes to responding to this report.” He added: “I have the very highest regard for the work of the CCC and their report makes a number of very powerful arguments which I welcome but the official government response will come later and from Greg. But I hope you can take from my comments my gratitude for the CCC’s work, my appreciation of the urgent need for us all to do more and my acknowledgement that the Scottish Government and parliamentarians from every party are making the case for more urgent action as well which I welcome.” When asked by Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell if all UK government policies should be reviewed in light of the climate emergency, as has been announced by the Scottish Government, Mr Gove agreed.

Scotsman 15th May 2019 read more »

Energy Policy – Scotland

16 May 2019

Scotland can redefine what climate leadership means if MSPs back proposals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045, Nicola Sturgeon has said. Speaking at the All Energy conference in Glasgow, the first minister said that the Scottish government fully accepted the CCC’s recommendation. Ms Sturgeon also launched a new energy consumer action plan at the conference. It includes setting up an independent commission to give consumers a more powerful voice in energy policy and a charter pledging that consumer issues will be addressed.

Times 16th May 2019 read more »

EVs

16 May 2019

Dutch electric vehicle (EV) start-up Lightyear has confirmed that it will unveil a prototype of the world’s first long-range solar-powered passenger car next month, claiming that the vehicle will have a range of up to 800km (497 miles). The car, called the Lightyear One, is fitted with a solar roof and a battery system which enables 600-800km of range, depending on the speed at which the vehicle travels and the terrain which it travels along. Lightyear, which is based in Helmond, claims that the car will be the world’s first solar model with long-range capabilities.

Edie 15th May 2019 read more »

Energy Policy

15 May 2019

Investment in low-carbon energy sources, such as wind, solar and nuclear, must more than double by 2030 if the world is to meet its Paris Agreement climate goals, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). This is one of the many insights to emerge from the agency’s latest World Energy Investment report, which is published today. Besides the trend in low-carbon spending, the analysis shows that overall energy investment is also not keeping up with consumption trends.

Carbon Brief 14th May 2019 read more »

John Vidal: Has the politics of climate change finally reached a tipping point? People increasingly see the environmental crisis as a national priority. This is an opportunity for bold action from government. Last week a small campaign group in the staunchly conservative town of Shrewsbury called a public meeting about climate change. The organisers were delighted when 150 people turned up. Even they were surprised, though, when people unanimously said they were prepared to give up flying, change their boilers and cars, eat less meat and even overthrow capitalism to get a grip on climate change. Shrewsbury joins more than 100 other councils across the country in declaring a climate emergency, and has pledged that it will be carbon-neutral within 11 years, with more following every week. Could this be the moment when politicians recognise they have both strong intellectual reason to act urgently on the environment as well as, finally, the public backing to do so? When, instead of trying to score marginal partisan points, they believe they have the legitimacy to be non-partisan, politically bold, and to together back transformative economic and social change in pursuit of the public good? Could politics indeed be changing with the climate?

Guardian 15th May 2019 read more »

Letter Colin Hines: Your editorial (13 May) correctly states that Britain needs a Green New Deal now, and indeed in your letters page last autumn (10 September) our report detailing what form such a “jobs in every constituency” Green New Deal could take, and how to pay for it, was supported by a cross-party group of MPs, NGO leaders and academics. Since then the idea has gained international traction thanks to the likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the support of grassroots movements. The US approach also includes the need to improve economic security for the majority, which has widened its support base. Finally, the scientific data underscoring the need to act in the next 10 years to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss has resulted in unprecedented activist pressure on politicians to respond. As a result, all opposition parties are calling for the declaration of a climate emergency, but the government’s actual policies – from fracking to the rollback of support for renewables and energy efficiency – are making things worse. Yet all is not lost. At the end of last year more than 60 Tory MPs signed an all-party letter calling on the prime minister to back a net zero-emissions target ahead of 2050. Clearly the disconnect here is the lack of necessary political will. MPs should take inspiration from President Kennedy’s call in 1961 to put a man on the moon within a decade, but this time the priority must be to save the planet, rather than leave it.

Guardian 14th May 2019 read more »

THERE is one thing certain in our age of uncertainty: capitalism in its current form cannot continue. It’s eating the planet. Climate change cannot be solved without tackling the inherent problems in this late-stage malignant form of capitalism that has marked the last 40 years of history. This is not a manifesto for Marxism – human beings need to trade, sell their labour, and accumulate wealth and property. To deny that is as foolish as to deny the need for food and sex. It’s part of who we are as a species. But the current form of capitalism which holds sway over human affairs has nothing to do with trade or entrepreneurialism, and everything to do with rampant greed and institutionalised inequality. Unbridled mass consumption and the almost suicidal glee with which industries from fashion to farming trash the planet will be our undoing.

Herald 15th May 2019 read more »

Energy Policy – Scotland

15 May 2019

Scots have been urged to tackle climate change as a “shared national endeavour” as the Scottish Government announced a green summit with businesses and a sweeping review of all policies. Environment secretary, Roseanna Cunningham, said that responding to the climate emergency “must be hardwired into our national psyche” as the issue was “not just about government action”. And she called on the UK government to accept the same zero emissions target of 2045, adopted by the Scottish Government last week. However, despite her pledge that climate change would “be at the core of our next Programme for Government and Spending Review”, the Scottish Greens said they would refuse to back future government budgets if financial decisions were not focused on the environment. Campaign group Extinction Rebellion Scotland, also denounced the statement as “rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic”, and demanded the zero emissions targets to be brought forward to 2025. Ms Cunningham’s statement comes a week after the Scottish Government announced it had scrapped its plans to cut Air Departure Tax in the light of the “climate emergency” – and that its support for a third runway at Heathrow was also being reviewed. It has also challenged opposition parties to back its proposed Workplace Parking Levy as an environmental policy. It also came just hours after Chris Stark, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, which recommended the 2045 deadline for zero emissions, told MSPs that policies in Scotland needed to “step up to the task” if the target was to be met. Ms Cunningham also laid down a challenge for critics of the change in the Scottish Government’s focus: “For those saying this is not enough – what is your offer? How will you help to support a fair and just transition for the people of Scotland? Work with us to bring on board those who are perhaps less convinced about the need for action; look closely at your own activities and those of your organisations and see what more you can do. “For those saying this is too much and too expensive, the evidence shows that the global cost of inaction far outweighs the cost of action. Future generations will end up paying even more if we fail to take action now.” Earlier in the day MSPs on the environment committee had heard from members of the Committee of Climate Change who said the 2045 target for Scotland was the “most ambitious in the world.”

Scotsman 14th May 2019 read more »

Expect your lives to change as we tackle climate crisis, says Environment Secretary.

The i News 14th May 2019 read more »

The National 15th May 2019 read more »

Herald 14th May 2019 read more »

Targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland are the “most ambitious in the world”, according to experts. Speaking at Holyrood on Tuesday, representatives from the CCC told MSPs it is a “critical moment” for targets to be set in order to combat climate change. In its report, the CCC indicated that Scotland has greater potential to remove pollution from its economy than the UK overall, and therefore concluded that the country could credibly adopt a more ambitious target than the UK. Professor Piers Forster, a CCC member, said: “Some other countries are considering quite similar targets but I think we can say with confidence that the 2045 target for Scotland we set is currently the most ambitious in the whole world.” As part of the work towards achieving the goal, Scotland will also aim to reduce emissions by 70% by 2030 and 90% by 2040.

Herald 14th May 2019 read more »

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