New UK government dept on net zero

A new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has been formed out of the former Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

The new department will be under the Secretary of State Grant Shapps, formerly Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and prior to that of Transport and of International Development.

A government statement says the new department is tasked with securing the country’s long-term energy supply, bringing down bills and halving inflation.

The statement continues: “The move recognises the significant impact rising prices have had on households across the country as a result of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, and the need to secure more energy from domestic nuclear and renewable sources as we seize the opportunities of net zero.”

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Other ministerial appointments in the Department alongside Shapps are Andrew Bowie, Lord Callanan and Amanda Solloway as Parliamentary Under Secretaries of State and Graham Stuart as a Minister of State.

At this early stage there is little information on how the new department will achieve its aims but some current initiatives are indicative.

Among these earlier this week over £110 million (US$133 million) was announced as available to be funnelled into decarbonising air transport with electric flying taxis and hydrogen powered aircraft and £32 million was allocated to improving the energy efficiency of the heat networks, while recently a similar amount was awarded to industry to develop alternatives to red diesel.

A new body, UK Industrial Fusion Solutions, was announced to deliver the country’s fusion energy programme with a prototype plant by 2040.

The smart meter programme, aimed to deliver a full rollout by the end of 2025, also is up for review to set the targets for the final two-year phase.

At the same time Shapps also is faced with addressing issues including the alleged forced installation of prepayment meters for vulnerable consumers, in some cases reportedly by break in, and possible redress for them, and wider support for consumers facing record energy bills.

New department welcomed

The formation of the new dedicated energy department has been widely welcomed but with caveats.

Emma Pinchbeck, CEO of the trade body Energy UK, which had called for a dedicated energy department, said: “While this focused new department is welcome, its significance depends on whether we now see the urgent progress we are calling for, right now, to help with the ongoing energy crisis and to make sure the UK maintains its market position as a leader in net zero investment and infrastructure.”

Ross Easton, Interim Chief Executive of the Energy Network Association (ENA), similarly welcomed its creation, adding: “That said, the proof is not in the name or the Whitehall machinery, but in the delivery of high quality policy which supports safe, secure, sustainable and reliable energy supplies for customers – now and in the future. That is the real test.”

Mike Childs, Head of science, policy & research at Friends of the Earth, which with other organisations had mounted a legal challenge to the net zero strategy in 2022, said: “Whilst the new department is welcome, it will be little more than a PR exercise if it doesn’t turn around the government’s failing climate strategy.”

The judge in his finding ordered that “the net zero proposals were too vague and did not enable him to be satisfied that the statutory targets would be met”. The government was then given eight months to update its climate strategy and include “a quantified account of how its policies would achieve climate targets”.