The head of business group CBI is set to call on the Government to make “an all-out national effort” on energy efficiency at the opening of its Annual Net-Zero Conference today.
Speaking to an audience of senior business leaders at the Science Museum in London, CBI Director-General Tony Danker will outline his strategy to simultaneously reduce energy bills at a time of high inflation and spur economic growth.
And he is urging businesses to stick with their own net zero strategies while juggling increasing energy costs for suppliers and customers.
Mr Danker is expected to say: “To every firm, stay on track on your own net zero journeys. If you’re well on your way to decarbonising your operations, products and services, build on your achievements. Increase your ambitions. And look to see how you can help your customers, supply chains and other firms beyond your sector get on too.”
At the CBI event, sponsored by Bain & Company, Equinor and National Grid, he’ll urge Government to scrap its “fits and start approach” to energy efficiency, and instead find a long-term solution.
The CBI recommends urgent Government action on three fronts:
- Legislate for the fourth ECO (Energy Company Obligation) scheme before summer recess and commit £1bn annual funding for energy efficiency retrofits , creating a new ECO+ scheme which helps more households kickstart their plans to fit insulation immediately.
- Unblock delays to green infrastructure by publishing an accelerated planning regime for offshore wind projects, to cut delivery time in half. And reform the onshore wind planning regime to approve projects at speed.
- Back critical technologies that will support the world’s decarbonisation in the decades ahead. Confirm business models for hydrogen production and carbon capture and storage by 2023; alongside backing the deployment of two additional carbon capture clusters by 2030.
Mr Danker will outline how the war in Ukraine has made the switch to clean energy more urgent – to guarantee global security, national security and the security of every family in our country. Inflation changes the game too.
He is expected top say in his speech: “Energy prices are likely to be higher for longer than we imagined. Reimagining the supply side to reduce our fossil fuel use further will take years not months. This is a long-term crisis that needs a long-term solution, but people need a fix now.
“It’s driving something of a backlash against net zero, partly understandable in the circumstances. Yet coming most forcefully from long-time sceptics. Arguing net zero is a costly distraction. Better we stick with fossil fuels. Currently, the public don’t quite agree. Despite all the challenges, the surveys show continued commitment to tackling climate change.
“But we can’t be complacent. Business and government must take this seriously. We must show decarbonisation is the solution, not the problem, or we’ll lose that support. We must show now how it delivers lower bills, better jobs, and brighter economic prospects.”
