The energy security strategy to be unveiled on Thursday will recognize the need to move away from fossil fuels, the Guardian understands, but will nevertheless speed up licenses to explore new oil and gas fields and generate more production from existing North Sea deposits. Ministers are expected to say the UK needs more oil and gas in the short term, including new sources of fossil fuel imports, to replace the small percentage of British oil and gas coming from Russia and reduce price pressures. The government will present North Sea oil and gas as lower in carbon than imported gas, according to a Whitehall source, to meet UK needs while boosting renewables and nuclear power. However, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a “now or never” warning on Monday, indicating that new fossil fuel exploration would set the goal of the Paris agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius beyond the possible. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who will present the energy strategy, is strongly in favor of boosting renewable energy from oil and gas, but under pressure from Tory right-wingers, the government is set to focus on natural resources. gas, with a few meters for insulation or switch to heat pumps. The strategy will also define:
Review of scientific advice on the safety of fracking. The Guardian understands that Kwarteng believes that fracking in the UK is not realistic and uneconomical, but under pressure from the right will keep the choice open. Doubling the target for hydrogen use from 5 GW to 10 GW, half of which will come from “blue” hydrogen from fossil fuels, despite indications that it emits more carbon than carbon. Ministers are expected to present blue hydrogen as a necessary bridge for future “green” hydrogen from renewable energy sources, but activists say it will lock in high emissions. A boost to the offshore wind, with the expansion of existing offshore wind farms and possible new floating platforms in deeper waters, but solar energy is in danger of being lost. Investing in new nuclear reactors is facilitated. A few new measures to increase heat pumps and no comprehensive national program to insulate homes on the scale that experts say is feasible and would make a real difference in the cost of living.
Hopes for a significant easing of planning regulations in England that would allow more winds to land will be dashed, due to opposition from the cabinet. This is despite numerous polls showing a large majority of people in favor of wind farms, including most conservative voters and people in areas close to real and proposed wind turbines. Green activists have said that the new North Sea deposits being licensed today will not produce gas for years or decades, but will result in consistently higher emissions for much longer in the future. Meanwhile, the biggest opportunity – to reduce energy waste – is in danger of being lost. The government’s independent climate adviser, the Climate Change Committee, has strongly condemned plans for more mining in the North Sea, but said last month it was unable to prevent it. Philip Evans, an oil and gas activist for Greenpeace UK, said: . The fastest and smartest solution to the energy challenge and cost of living crisis is a huge boost to tackling energy waste. “If your bathtub is leaking, you need to fix the leak – not just turn on the taps.” However, correcting leaks seems to be low on the government’s list of priorities. Successive attempts to isolate Britain have failed, for a number of reasons: mismanagement, in last year’s disastrous green subsidy. complicated rules and low incentives for the predecessor of the “green agreement” system abandoned in 2015; and overall a half-hearted, short-term and piecemeal approach by the government. Experts say what is needed is a nationally coordinated push to develop insulation, double glazing and heat pumps, focusing first on households at or at risk of energy poverty. Emma Pinchbeck, Managing Director of Energy UK, said: “The benefits of making our homes energy efficient are so overwhelming that no one seriously disagrees with their importance, but as a country our efforts so far have not come close. the scale required. Now is definitely the time to move on to something that is proven [reduce bills] hundreds of pounds a year permanently. “ It does not make sense that the government is ready to make the large-scale effort required. Ed Matthew, E3G’s campaign manager, warned: “There is a technical possibility of halving gas consumption in UK homes. But to realize that great potential means unleashing a new wave of public investment to help every household make their home extremely energy efficient. “This requires an effort in time of war to create an army of installers to insulate our homes and install heat pumps and to ensure that it is accessible to all.” If the UK wants to stop importing gas by next winter, this would theoretically be possible if every home became energy efficient, according to estimates by Jan Rosenow, director of the Regulatory Assistance Project. He said: “We import about 150 terawatt hours of natural gas for home heating each year. We would not need any of these if we insulated our homes and switched to heat pumps. “We could save more gas than we import for heating with existing technologies. “What the government needs to do is step up its policies now to develop insulation and heat pumps as quickly as possible.” Behavior change is also not conducive. Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, urged people to lower their thermostats by just 1 C, from an average of about 22 degrees Celsius to 21 degrees Celsius – still at the highest level of comfort. But the government is reluctant to urge people to do anything that could be considered a sacrifice. Another area of concern is solar energy. Offshore wind power – Boris Johnson’s favorite form of renewable energy – will get a big boost in strategy, but solar energy could be lost despite being the cheapest form of energy in the UK and the fastest in operation, according to Chris Hewett, Chief. executive of the industrial organization Solar Energy UK. He said the UK could reach 54 GW of solar energy by 2030 – about 17% of the UK’s electricity needs – with the right support. Plans for some large solar parks have come into conflict and solar panels are still expensive for most households, despite the abolition of VAT on panels. Hewett said: “To fully unlock the potential, we must see the government set an ambitious goal and accelerate investment in modernizing our electricity grids. “Supporting planning guidelines and formal recognition that land on a solar farm is often used for agriculture or to enhance biodiversity would also allow solar energy to play an important role in agricultural economies.” The Guardian understands that there are no plans for the government to seek “reversal margins” for the loss or delay of the UK’s carbon budgets or the legally binding net zero target.
