COP29: A missed opportunity to take the heat out of global warming Opinion Those who shout the loudest about climate change tend to have a disproportionate influence, but we’ll never solve this challenge without being realistic and practical, says Eliot Wilson There was a time when climate change – ”global warming” was the argot when I was young – was accepted by politicians as a major challenge. Margaret [...]
Ministers to speed up energy ‘skills passport’ amid worker shortages Politics The energy secretary will speed up oil and gas workers being able to transition to jobs in the renewable energy industry via a “skills passport” as workforce shortages are “hindering” the sector. Energy security and net zero secretary Ed Miliband confirmed his department will “provide project management advice” to Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and Renewable [...]
Rightmove warns almost £25bn needed to insulate 2.9m UK homes by 2030 Energy There are 2.9 million houses that will require £23.4bn in improvements to meet the government’s energy performance certificate (EPC) standards by 2030, according to Rightmove. New analysis from the property portal found that an average of £8,074 will have to be spent on rental homes to upgrade them to a C rating by EPC standards. [...]
Starmer set to announce £22bn boost for UK carbon capture October 4, 2024 The UK is set to invest almost £22bn over 25 years in carbon capture and storage schemes, Sir Keir Starmer is to announce ahead of the upcoming international investment summit. Projects in Teesside and Merseyside will benefit from the £21.7bn in funding over 25 years, which the government says will attract £8bn in private investment [...]
Demise of coal power is end of an era, but not an end in itself October 1, 2024 A quiet revolution occurred in the very earliest moments of this morning, probably while you were asleep. You went to bed in one sort of country, and woke up in another sort entirely. The difference is largely invisible but undeniably huge: yesterday, the UK’s last coal power station was still operational and by this morning [...]
Ed Miliband brands renewable energy transition a ‘national security fight’ against nimbys September 17, 2024 Britain’s transition to renewable energy is the “economic justice, energy security and national security fight of our time”, Ed Miliband has said, as he pledged to “take on the blockers”. The energy security and net zero secretary told Energy UK’s annual conference in London that fossil fuel “dependence” continued to leave the UK “deeply vulnerable [...]
GB Energy: Bill criticised as ‘blank cheque’ as MPs debated flagship policy September 6, 2024 The government’s Great British Energy bill has been criticised as a “blank cheque” and for having “barely anything in it” as MPs debated the flagship policy in the Commons. Energy security secretary Ed Miliband introduced the legislation to the chamber on Thursday for its second reading – when the main Commons debate was held – [...]
Don’t believe Miliband’s spin on green energy September 5, 2024 The only thing “record-breaking” about the latest clean energy auction is the subsidies Ed Miliband’s thrown at it. Time to level with taxpayers about the true cost of net zero, says Tim Focas Here we go again – it didn’t take long did it. The new government, with Ed Miliband at the helm of energy [...]
Future of Rosebank in doubt as UK drops challenge to judicial review August 29, 2024 The future of Britain’s largest untapped oil field, Rosebank, has been thrown in to doubt after the new government said it would not challenge a judicial review. The decision affects the field which is just off the Shetland Islands, as well as Jackdaw, another untapped site 150 miles east of Aberdeen. Legal challenges against the [...]
The state is bad at picking winners. GB Energy will prove that August 19, 2024 GB Energy is likely to prove to be another example of how the state can't pick winners, writes Eliot Wilson.