Leader

Leaders must show ‘ambitious pragmatism’

Addressing the COP31 climate conference in Turkey, Andy Burnham spoke unambiguously about the need to end our “reliance on fossil fuels”.

Almost before the words were out of his mouth, they were being contrasted to his equally unequivocal comments just a few weeks ago that the UK will need “oil and gas for years to come”.

Likewise, his insistence that “electrification of transport, heat and industry is how we make clean power cheap power” comes in the same week it was widely reported (presumably because of a government leak) that electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing targets will imminently be watered down.

Is this an example of a government contradicting itself, or of one accepting that the energy transition itself is a big, hot, contradictory mess?

I’ve mentioned many times before that the political consensus that nodded through the net-zero legislation in 2019 set the transition off on the wrong foot from the very beginning. Decarbonisation is complex, expensive and intrusive but also desperately necessary and ultimately offers huge benefits. That’s a difficult message to fit into a soundbite and has led to a succession of administrations – both Conservative and Labour – that continued to beat a green drum, first for net zero and then for clean power, while avoiding difficult questions.

To some extent, Burnham is guilty of continuing that trend. One of the criticisms levelled against him is that he tries to please everyone. Certainly his assertions that we can fast-track electrification, bridge the gap with fossil fuels and bring down bills feels like someone desperate to be liked.

But there is also a sense that we may be about to enter an era of “ambitious pragmatism” (thank you to IGEM chief executive Ollie Lancaster for that phrase!).

There has been outcry from many quarters on both the U-turn on oil and gas drilling and the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate. However, most of the industry sources I have spoken to in recent months – whether their paycheck relies on electrification or the continued use of fossil fuels – see both as a measured response to the reality of the energy transition. And as our analysis overleaf makes clear, there is now an increasing acceptance that the pace of renewables can only be as rapid as the build-out of the grid to support it.

Put together, this could be seen as cause for dismay. It was notable that Burnham once again passed over the chance to re-commit his government to Clean Power 2030, pledging only to stay the course on net zero.

So, it is seems clear we are in an era of pragmatism - but that does not need to be death of ambition. The pursuit of clean power should not be abandoned, but in the place of arbitrary targets we need a stretching transition plan that addresses all the levers at our disposal, including the right incentives for households to manage their demand.

I accept that in some ways this is yet another attempt to keep everyone happy. But, get it right, and there’s a chance those smiles will stay on faces for longer than a Parliamentary cycle.