Inline Insights

On 28 July, the British Government announced its first licensing round for six years for companies who wish to prospect for onshore oil and gas. The announcement was top of the news agenda, and there was no mistaking the excitement in UK ministerial (and Conservative) voices as they claimed that the speeding-up of exploration for shale could boost jobs, economic growth and national energy security.

But a deeper analysis suggests that it would be wise to temper this enthusiasm with some realistic appraisal of the obstacles that will have to be addressed before we reach the ‘promised land’. 

Now that the dust has settled a little, it’s worth examining Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent reshuffle in more detail, and what it might mean for the coalition’s policies on climate change and energy between now and next May’s General Election.

Price Comparison Websites (PCWs) are popular tools amongst tech-savvy consumers, especially in the consumer goods, energy and financial sectors. The key to their attractiveness is that they allow consumers to quickly search for and compare the best deals in the market. PCWs usually operate on either a flat-fee, or a commission-based model and attract new customers via online and offline advertising. Some of the biggest players have become very profitable, thus attracting new companies to enter the market.

For all that some of the media (in the UK at least) enjoy stirring the pot about the unsuitability of renewables projects because of their impact on the landscape, on local communities, etc, investors and the finance sector will tell you that is policy direction and regulatory stability which counts.

The questions of who will occupy the top jobs on environment and energy in Brussels over the next five years, particularly in the European Parliament (EP) and in the European Commission, will matter greatly. There is a big policy agenda ahead, coming at a testing time for European policies on energy markets and security of supply, which will have price implications for industry and consumers, and the decarbonisation strategy.

The EU needs to make the single European energy market a reality. But to achieve this, it will need to concentrate more on incentivising investment, infrastructure and technical issues rather than on grand political gestures.

Things may be looking up for the EU’s “flagship” climate policy instrument. But much more needs to be done from the autumn.

The Government would be advised to eschew a fracking at all costs approach in favour of a more carefully weighted public strategy.

One of the more eye-catching measures announced in the recent Queen’s Speech was the UK Government’s proposal to change the trespass laws and allow fracking companies to drill under people’s homes without their permission.

Tomorrow's protest against Uber, by an estimated 12,000 London taxi drivers, looks set to cause considerable disruption and have a significant negative economic impact too.  Figures suggest that the protest could cost London’s economy as much as £125 million (see tonight’s London Evening Standard).  The controversy centres on an app provided to Uber's drivers - separate from the one used by the public - that calculates the journey distance and time taken, and then relays this information to remote computer servers to determine the fee.

This post is a guest blog from Charles Perry, Director at sustainability group Anthesis-SecondNature.

This month sees the fourth anniversary of David Cameron’s promise that the coalition would become ‘the Greenest Government Ever’. But, as Charles Perry argues, blue and yellow have not made green, and those promises of action on climate change have dropped from sight.

This is important…

On 28 May the European Commission adopted a major communication on an EU energy security strategy. This is potentially an extremely important document - especially if it were to be implemented – and was drafted, at the request of member states, as a direct response to the Ukrainian crisis and concerns about over-reliance on Russian gas. There are few things more critical than keeping the lights on and our homes heated.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) invariably has something interesting to say on energy policy, on what is happening now and on future trends. Their latest report, Energy Technology Perspectives 2014, which lays out pathways to a sustainable energy system by 2050, is no different in this regard.

Our Environment Consultant Richard Folland takes a look in this blog post at why UK policymakers should manage their message on renewables

The analysis, written by Energy Transition Advisors (ETA), assists investors to continue their engagement with companies over carbon asset risk. It introduces the concept of a carbon supply cost curve to global oil projects – highlighting that many make neither financial or carbon sense when stress-tested against demand, price and emissions scenarios.

A £500 million initiative to boost the use of electric and hybrid vehicles, which still represent just one per cent of car sales in Britain, will be launched today by Nick Clegg.

The Deputy Prime Minister said he wanted to encourage drivers to ditch petrol or diesel vehicles by making it cheaper and more convenient to drive cars which run on green alternatives.

At least £200 million is being set aside to fund grants of 25 per cent, up to a maximum of £5,000, towards the cost of an ultra-low emission car.