Net zeroing in on investment

This paper details some of the major challenges facing the new Government as it sets out policies to decarbonise the UK economy at the pace required by our legally binding carbon targets. It assesses recent trends in decarbonisation and how they will need to change in the future, how this could impact the living standards of households on low- to middle-incomes, and steps that should be taken over the next five years to ensure that the burden of decarbonisation does not unduly fall on poorer families.

It finds that overall investment levels will need to increase four-fold on those seen since 2010, but that higher upfront costs could limit the affordability of low carbon technologies to those with lower means. As such, effective targeting of support should be a priority, something that successive governments have failed to deliver effectively in recent years.

It also shows that, with the majority of low carbon infrastructure planned for areas in which the population is wealthier and older than the national average, methods to encourage communities to host new developments should be mindful of potentially negative distributional outcomes.