None of this is to deny that there are costs and challenges associated with net zero - there are, and I spend my working day trying to tackle them.
But the idea that net zero is the biggest problem facing the UK economy, or the main reason energy bills are high, just does not stand up to scrutiny.
... there are some early signs this is bearing fruit.
In July, gas bills will go up by 28% as a result of the Iran war. We'd historically expect electricity to go up by almost as much, but it's up by only 6%. An early sign that the government's plan is working?
www.nesta.org.uk/blog/july-en...
But what about the benefits of renewables on energy bills? Well, during energy crises especially, they help to bring down bills (because they mean relying less on oil and gas).
The government's Clean Power 2030 plan aims to largely end the role of gas in the electricity system, and...
But if you put this all together - if you ask why your energy bill, both electricity and gas, have been rising in the last 5 years...
... the answer is overwhelmingly "wholesale costs". Which, in the context of all these fossil fuel crises, you can read as "gas".
www.nesta.org.uk/blog/is-gas-...
The cost of running the electricity grid - both upgrading wires and balancing the newly renewables-dominated grid - is rising quite a bit. Some of this is a cost of switching to renewables - we do need to invest in the system. Some is down to the grid being built in the 1950s and needing an upgrade
Oh, and it seems unfashionable to mention it now, but net zero is also essential to maintaining a safe climate. Heat waves, like all other climate impacts, will get far, far worse if we don't decarbonise.
And ignore the childish 1% argument, the UK still plays a big role in global climate action
So to recap:
- Energy prices have been rising for 25 years, long before net zero
- Early renewables did push up costs, but the current government has begun removing those costs
- Network costs are rising, but are still dwarfed by wholesale
- Renewables are making electricity cheaper in this crisis