Over the next few decades, the UK will need to steer a major transformation of the energy system, in order to maximise the benefits of innovation, bring about rapid decarbonisation in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and ensure that the system meets all people’s needs. The current picture of governance is confused, with multiple advisory and regulatory bodies, working to different objectives, overseeing different aspects of the energy system. Given the required scale and pace of change, there is a need for a direction-setting process, which provides co-ordination in a crowded institutional field. This briefing is based on research conducted by the IGov project at the University of Exeter including stakeholder interviews and roundtable events, GB case studies, meetings with representatives from government, regulators and industry advisory panels, and case studies of regulatory regimes in other countries.
IGov 11th April 2019 read more »
A broad-based tax on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases would be far less expensive than a Green New Deal is likely to be, yet it could motivate action on a scale that is both grander and more precise. Every part of the economy and each decision we make would be shaped by such a tax. A carbon tax would pull billions of different levers in an economy that is both complex and saturated in fossil fuels. Each one of the billions of different products on sale can be designed, produced, transported and consumed in a way that might increase or reduce carbon emissions. A carbon tax nudges the energy mix to shift in favour of renewables, but also pushes fossil fuels from coal towards gas. It encourages efficiency in the design of cars, homes, any light bulb or any motor, but it also rewards frugality. A lump-sum subsidy can encourage the uptake of electric cars – but a carbon tax will also reward those who cycle instead of driving. Our modern economy reflects countless choices, made by billions of people all over the world. A broad-based carbon price influences them all. Nothing else can.
FT 12th April 2019 read more »
