Page 6 - EurOil Week 31 2021

EurOil COMMENTARY EurOil

UK reportedly eyes delay

to gas boiler ban

The government has back-tracked on its ban on installing new gas boilers amid a

public backlash and concenrs about the cost of such a measure to households

UK THE UK government is reportedly looking are set to be brought to zero by 2050.
to postpone a proposed ban on the sale of gas Dieter Helm, a well-known UK economist
boilers in 2035, after a backlash from the public at the University of Oxford, has criticised the
and concerns about the cost of such a measure government for not being honest with the pub-
to households. lic about the true cost of the energy transition.
The government of Prime Minister Boris What is more, it does not have a coherent plan in
Johnson announced plans last year to ban gas place for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, he
boilers by the middle of the next decade, replac- said during an interview at the House of Lords
ing them with alternatives such as electric and Committee for Regulation and Industry on July
hydrogen boilers and heat pumps. But reports 20.
in the UK press indicate that the government Though a supporter of progressive climate
wants to postpone this move until 2040, because policies such as a carbon tax, Helm accused
of concerns about the cost of replacing the boil- Johnson of trying to have his cake and eat it too.
ers. The delay would provide more time for the The Prime Minister wants to realise a net-zero
cost of alternatives to fall, the Sun newspaper carbon future, but is in reality not prepared to
reported. pay for it.
According to the newspaper, government Johnson's transition plan have drawn crit-
insiders are worried of the cost of Johnson’s icism from former UK Conservative Finance
GBP400bn ($559bn) energy transition plan, Minister Nigel Lawson, who warned in a letter
which will add to the significant debt burden this week that its GBP1.4 trillion ($1.9 trillion)
that the government has taken on as a result of cost estimate was likely only half or even a third
the pandemic. of the real figure. The PM neeeds more balanced
The UK Treasury had been considering the advisors and economists than those he currently
issue of so-called green cheques worth hundreds consult, he said.
of pounds to households to compensate them for Lawson, who served under former Prime
making their houses cleaner. But now, the Sun Minister Margaret Thatcher, said the govern-
said, only the poorest will secure these grants, ment was likely to back-track on similar prom-
while middle-class families will be expected to ises in addition to delaying the boiler ban.
foot the bill themselves. "Analysis of offshore wind farm accounts
“Clearly carbon cheques are the answer, but shows that costs, far from falling, remain virtu-
the Treasury vetoed it,” a Whitehall source told ally unchanged over the last ten years," he said.
the newspaper. “There will be no ban on boilers "It is now clear that electricity prices, which
just yet – we were going to by 2035 but now that’s have doubled since the advent of the renewables
not happening.” obligation, will double again unless you change
The UK government will publish its full tran- course soon."
sition strategy in the autumn, just ahead of the “British households are still threatened with
country hosting the COP26 climate summit, a burden of net zero costs that is simply unaf-
bringing together some 100 leaders from around fordable: an additional cost of £10-12,000 for
the world. Johnson is keen to use the summit to buying an electric vehicle and an estimated
promote the UK as a leader in tackling climate £7,000/household for upgrading the electricity
change, and a pioneer in developing technolo- distribution grid. And that is just to scratch the
gies and expertise in low-carbon fields like car- surface of what will be necessary,” he continued.
bon capture and storage (CCS), renewables and “Each time you accept the advice of the CCC
hydrogen. or BEIS without scrutiny, you will be forced to
UK households are responsible for over a reverse course as soon as the real costs hit home
third of the country’s carbon emissions, which and public anger results.”™

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 31 05•August•2021