Energy & Environment
Our energy market needs Reform.
We all care about the environment. Our air has never been cleaner. We want to use technology to do our bit. But Net Zero is the wrong bit, at the wrong price, in the wrong timeframe. Westminster’s obsession with Net Zero is damaging our livelihoods and the economy. It has sent energy bills soaring. Made it harder for businesses to compete. It is costing tens of thousands of jobs and increasing inflation.
Net zero means reducing man made CO2 emissions to stop climate change. It can’t. Climate change has happened for millions of years, before man made CO2 emissions, and will always change. We are better to adapt to warming, rather than pretend we can stop it. Up to 10 times more people die of cold than warmth. In Roman Britain some 2,000 years ago, it was 2 degrees warmer than now. Grapes for wine were grown in Yorkshire.
CO2 is essential for photosynthesis to enable plant growth. CO2 only represents 0.04% of the atmosphere; the average garden greenhouse has 3 times more! The UK produces only 1% of global CO2 emissions, yet China produces 27%. China & India are building hundreds of coal fired power stations.
Even the IPCC admits Net Zero would make no difference to sea level rise for 200-1,000 years; in other words they do not have a clue.
Instead, Net Zero sends our money abroad and damages critical industries like steel production. The government has turned Britain from being an exporter of oil and gas into a net importer. They have bet our future on unreliable wind and solar power and destroyed our energy security. It’s time for a common sense energy strategy.
Critical reforms needed in the first 100 days:
Scrap Net Zero and Related Subsidies.
The UK cost of Net Zero has been estimated by the National Grid and others at some £2 trillion or more. It is so big that no one really knows. The public sector is spending billions each year with no accountability or transparency. Ditching Net Zero would save the public sector some £20 billion per year for the next 25 years, possibly more.
Scrap Annual £10 Billion of Renewable Energy Subsidies.
Achieve this through equivalent taxes on them. Renewables are not cheaper. Our bills have increased dramatically in line with the huge increase in renewables capacity over the last 15 years.
Cheap, Secure Energy.
We must use the energy treasure under our feet. Start fast-track licences of North Sea gas and oil. Grant shale gas licences on test sites for 2 years. Then enable major production when safety is proven, with local compensation schemes. The value of shale gas is potentially hundreds of billions over 30 years to the taxpayer. This could transform our nations fortunes and ensure prosperity for generations to come.
Thereafter:
Cleaner Energy from New Technology.
Fast-track clean nuclear energy with new small modular reactors, built in Britain. Increase and incentivise UK lithium mining for electric batteries, Combined Cycle gas turbines, clean synthetic fuel and clean coal mining.