Net Zero by 2050: cheaper than another oil shock? That changes the argument
Net Zero by 2050: cheaper than another oil shock? That changes the argument For years, the debate around net zero has often sounded like this: it’s all very worthy, but can we afford it? Now the UK’s Climate Change Committee, the government’s independent climate advisers, has turned that question on its head. Their latest analysis says that getting the UK to net zero by 2050 would cost less than a single fossil-fuel price shock on the scale of 2022 . In other words, the expensive option may actually be carrying on as normal. That is quite a striking way to frame it. Most of us remember what a fossil-fuel shock feels like. Energy bills shot up, businesses struggled, government support cost billions, and households were left wondering whether to put the heating on or just wear another jumper and hope for the best. The CCC’s point is that a country powered more by home-grown electricity, renewables, heat pumps, electric vehicles and better-insulated buildings is far less exposed ...