“Gaps are opening up between aspiration and execution” of the UK’s National Infrastructure Strategy, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has warned in its annual report on progress. It says, “Urgent action is needed” because “another year of slow progress would make meeting the country’s climate targets unlikely and readying infrastructure for the impacts of a changing climate more challenging.”
The NIC says little progress has been made on decarbonising heating, increasing the energy efficiency of homes or installing electric vehicle charge points. And it warns that “some of the strategies government has developed over the last year lack detailed policy plans,
leave key gaps, or do not go far enough.”
On decarbonising heating, it says the “biggest infrastructure challenge for building a net zero economy” needs rapid action to halve emissions from heat t by 2035. But targets “are not currently supported by a delivery plan or clear funding.” It wants government to act this year to improve energy efficiency schemes, to put the country back on track for homes to be EPC C rated or above by 2035. The NIC says that would also help respond to sharply rising gas prices and the war in Ukraine, which is likely to push up prices further: “The most effective and immediate response Britain can take is to reduce the use of gas through increasing the deployment of renewable electricity and increasing the energy efficiency of buildings.”
The overarching Net Zero Strategy leaves major gaps around the pathway for heating decarbonisation, energy efficiency and how the costs of transitioning to low carbon infrastructure will be fairly paid for. The NIC warns “Delays to decisions on who pays are now holding up delivering infrastructure, including low carbon heat and energy efficiency.”
The government has to urgently resolve questions on what heating technologies are feasible and where, how to create the right incentives for people to switch from fossil fuel heating, how much investment is required and who will pay for it, and how the transition will be delivered at pace.
The NIC also wants a step-up in plans to roll out electric vehicle infrastructure and a detailed plan to deliver 5 MtCO2 per year of engineered carbon dioxide removals by 2030.