The UK will need to spend around £30 billion a year by 2040 to have any chance of reaching net zero, according to the government’s National Infrastructure Commission (NIC).
Spending by private companies will also need to rise from around £30-40 billion in the last decade to £40-50 billion in the 2030s and 2040s.
The commission, set up to provide impartial and expert advice to ministers on major long-term economic infrastructure projects, warned that without significant public and private investment the UK would face challenges in “reshaping its economic geography, meeting climate commitments and improving resilience”. “and strengthen the economy.” Business.” natural environment”.
Sir John Armitt, the committee’s chairman, said the UK was at a “pivotal moment” where it had “the chance to make a huge contribution to the future of this country”. But we need to deal with it.”
Around eight million properties will need to switch from gas boilers, which currently heat around nine in 10 English properties, to cleaner alternatives by 2035 to achieve the net-zero emissions target by 2050, according to the report.
The costs for the lowest third of households, including those living in social housing, must be fully funded from the £2.5 billion annual fund, it says.
Other property owners should be eligible for a £7,000 grant for electric heating systems, with the offer being reduced over time to make it faster to receive. The report also suggests interest-free loans to help cover costs, as well as planned reforms to make it easier to install heat pumps.
Sir John said the Government had “failed to cut the mustard” in its efforts to meet its own net-zero emissions commitments.
“We have a goal of 2035, which is only 12 years away. I find it hard to imagine that we can achieve this if we install no more than 50,000-60,000 heat pumps per year, when the government has set a target of 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028,” he says. said.
“This is not feasible at this stage, so significant improvements will need to be made to achieve this target by 2035.”
Sir John also noted that thanks to changes brought in by Mr Sunak, fewer households will be eligible for subsidies towards the cost of heat pumps.
James Heath, chief executive of the NIC, said the UK is “still a long way off” from converting eight million properties to fossil fuel heating over the next seven years – a transition that is likely to lead to cuts in fuel bills.
Other recommendations include increasing grid flexibility to ensure reliable energy supply and creating a strategic energy reserve to ensure economic security.
The report also supports improving public transport in England’s largest regional cities, improving the national road network and promoting public charging stations for electric vehicles to reach at least 300,000 chargers by 2030.
Gigabit broadband will be available across the country by 2030, and market support will be provided to introduce new 5G services.
Increasing investment in the UK’s water supply is vital, including increasing the number of reservoirs to tackle water shortages and reduce leakage, as well as measures to reduce demand.
The committee also says that a “new comprehensive long-term rail plan” is urgently needed given the Prime Minister’s decision to cancel HS2 north of Birmingham, and that the decision “leaves a major gap in the UK’s rail strategy that needs to be filled.” Economic growth has been established in a number of cities.”
Sir John said: “This investment now should result in permanently lower infrastructure costs for households.”
“We often talk about infrastructure as the backbone of our economy: what our infrastructure needs now is the collective courage to turn commitments into actions that will pay off in the coming decades.”
The government must develop and stick to a clear plan to provide confidence to investors and help build supply chains, NIC said. It should also provide clear guidance on priorities, upfront investments and business models to support new technologies.
The report reflects calls to speed up the planning system for major projects, especially energy transmission systems, with clearer benefits to society in exchange for the siting of critical infrastructure.
NIC said the plans were priced “in line with government guidance on public investment”.
Nick Winser, a member of the committee, said the report was “clear” the NIC “does not see a role for hydrogen in the future of home heating” in the sixth carbon budget, which covers the period 2033-2037. “It’s just not ready to be used on a large scale for heating,” he says.
But excluding hydrogen technology would cut off the gas network to 25 million homes and amount to costly folly, the Energy Union and GMB warn.
GMB national secretary Andy Prendergast said the decision to rule out hydrogen as a clean energy solution was “completely absurd”. “Hydrogen offers one of the few realistic clean heating solutions available without overloading our ailing energy grid,” he said.
“Cutting off the gas network to 25 million homes is a costly folly when existing pipes could be reused to transport hydrogen. If Britain wants energy independence and saving tens of thousands of gas jobs, we must stop ignoring the green hydrogen revolution, which we could fully benefit from.”
Darren Jones, Labour’s shadow chancellor, said: “There is no doubt that we need to change the UK’s approach to infrastructure to drive investment and economic growth across the UK.”
“However, after thirteen years of economic collapse and stagnation, the Conservative Party remains the biggest obstacle to implementing the recommendations of this report and growing our economy.”
Source: I News
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