Helpfully Tim Leunig accepts as a premise that more North Sea drilling won’t make oil nor gas more affordable in the UK.
But his arguments about tax and the strategic benefit of allowing more North Sea licensing are flawed in key ways (as well as in ways that James has pointed out). Long 🧵 below:
And worth noting what Conservative voters themselves actually think about climate action & net zero...
"Conservative target voters want the Conservatives to work with the Government on the overall aim of tackling climate change" new report from @Onward
www.ukonward.com/reports/poli...
Badenoch:
"The current policies the UK is implementing are largely failing to do this, whilst, at the same time, driving up the cost of energy"
Reality:
Volatile gas prices are driving up the cost of energy
Net zero policies *are* working
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Amongst all the other climate news buffeting round today, here’s something good:
2024 UK heat pump sales up 63% on 2023 🥳
www.heatpumps.org.uk/record-year-...
Wild that proposed airport expansions - which have dodgy claims to increase economic growth at best - would wipe out the emissions savings from Labour's 2030 clean power plan
There's little point in going hard on climate in some areas while going backwards on others...
@neweconomics.bsky.social
🚨1 in 4 cars sold in November were EVs
Despite the fuss and drama of the last few weeks, UK EV sales are racing ahead
A nice evidence point that the ZEV mandate is working and need not be amended
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Everyone is sympathetic to industry needing the right kind of support to transition to EVs, but watering down the ZEV mandate will:
- Create further uncertainty
- Undermine existing investment made into EVs
- put UK manufacturing at *more* risk by falling behind in the global race
2. Other conditions (Brexit, cheap small Chinese EVs, lack of industrial strategy) have contributed heavily to the decline of the auto sector in the UK
Industry bosses themselves are even coming out saying the ZEV mandate has little to do with what's going on with closures:
bsky.app/profile/andy...
1. Targets under the mandate are close to being met in the first year across the industry, which industry itself has confirmed:
"Stellantis executive’s recent comments to investors undermine claim Luton closure was down to emission mandate"
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Ayayayyy what a week for EVs
News of the Stellantis Luton factory closure has been conflated with the ZEV mandate failing, but it's pretty clear to anyone paying attention that the two things are not really related...
2 big things to note on this:
Weakening the ZEV mandate would hurt the UK auto industry AND consumers.
The government must prioritise a coherent industrial strategy that drives investment in UK EV manufacturing rather than weakening key climate regulations.
Read the briefing: www.transportenvironment.org/te-united-ki...
HUGE and unexpected win in #Budget24 on private jets: air passenger duty hike. Good for climate, good for the economy. Total no brainer.
September was the biggest month on record for EV sales 🥳
Despite recent protestations from the industry, sales are up, with over 53,000 EVs being sold last month
More needed, of course, but the transition is well underway
Data from New Automotive
newautomotive.org/ecc
Exciting day!
A new source for heat pump information has arrived from @nestauk.bsky.social & MCS Foundation
#GetAHeatPump has re-launched with new & improved information, covering everything from heat pump costs to renovation tips.
An excellent tool for consumers!
GetAHeatPump.org.uk
Ofc it's more than just IT ("reform of the planning and consenting regime; streamlining of the regulatory approval process; changes to the grid connections process”) but it's an great perspective that these are technical challenges that can be overcome
National Energy System Operator day is here, and this is good piece on Slye, the man in charge, and some of the key challenges on meeting the 2030 power decarb target ("There are issues... But it’s not a bias issue, or a culture issue." tldr - IT issues)
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Importantly, this closure was done hand in hand with unions to ensure no workers were left behind, starting back in 2015. Many lessons to be learned about how other sectors transition to net zero going forward.
Good blog from @the-tuc.bsky.social here: www.tuc.org.uk/blogs/last-u...
