Reports
The IfG response to the British Energy Security Strategy
This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at the Energy Security Strategy and its short-term and long-term implications. The government claims its new energy strategy will boost the UK’s ‘energy security’ Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spurred deep concern about energy security across Europe. This is largely because many EU member...
Shocking statistics
This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute looks at energy security in a net zero world. The Adam Smith Institute’s latest discussion paper, written by Tim Ambler and Peter Edwards, outlines the challenges of ensuring energy security as the UK moves towards Net Zero carbon by 2050. Recent disruptions to the global...
Living without Russian gas
This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at what the government could do to manage a possible cut-off of gas from Russia. The sanctions imposed on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February have had a devastating impact on its economy. Most severe was the move to reduce the Russian...
Shrinking footprints
This report from UK think tank Resolution Foundation looks at the impacts of the net zero transition on households and consumption. The 2020s are set to bring a step change in climate policy, with efforts to decarbonise the UK economy beginning to impact on household consumption to a greater extent than before. Different households will...
The last drop
This report from UK think tank Green Alliance looks at why it is not economic to extract more oil and gas from the North Sea. The spike in the global gas price since 2021 has seen UK households struggle to afford their energy bills. Some think a solution to this energy crisis is to increase...
Installing for time?
This report from UK think tank Social Market Foundation looks at new evidence on the attitudes of home heat installers towards decarbonisation and heat pumps. Getting to net zero crucially means replacing millions of those fossil-fuel burning gas boilers with something else, like a heat pump. But is the workforce prepared for this monumental task?...
Toolkit: A just energy transition through community wealth building
This report from UK think tank CLES looks at what a community wealth building approach to energy transition should look like for the UK. We are standing at the brink of an energy revolution which could transform our places. Local government and other public sector organisations have a critical role in ensuring this transition is...
Lagging behind
This report from UK think tank Localis looks at energy efficiency in low viability properties. Ahead of COP 26, government departments have been commissioned across Whitehall to inform the cross-government Net Zero Strategy that, amongst other things, will detail plans for decarbonisation across key sectors of the economy. One of the most significant challenges in...
Pump up the volume
This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at a comprehensive plan to decarbonise the UK's homes. Unlike the UK’s success in promoting renewable energy generation in the power sector, the decarbonisation of the UK’s housing stock has repeatedly stalled. The UK is currently installing only 6 per cent of the heat pumps, 9 per...
Greenhouse gas emissions from burning US-sourced woody biomass in the EU and UK
This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at increased use of forest biomass for energy and associated impacts on the climate. Existing national and intergovernmental policy frameworks treat forest biomass as zero-carbon at the point of combustion and grant it access to financial and regulatory support. Consumption of wood pellets is growing rapidly...
Demanding Power: Do Protests Empower Citizens to Hold Governments Accountable over Energy?
This report from UK think tank the Institute for Development Studies looks at energy access in Mozambique, Nigeria and Pakistan. This paper draws together findings from research conducted in three countries, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Pakistan to ask how and under which conditions do struggles over energy access in fragile and conflict affected settings empower the...
It’s easy being green
This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute looks at how to embrace nuclear energy, a border-adjusted carbon tax, and clean free trade. The Adam Smith Institute’s latest paper, in conjunction with the British Conservation Alliance (BCA), and authored by BCA policy director Connor Tomlinson outlines a market centric approach to tackling environmental...
Green money
This report from UK think tank Bright Blue looks at a plan to reform UK carbon pricing. The UK’s current system for pricing carbon is inadequate, inconsistent and unequal. Not only must carbon pricing go much further if the UK is to reach net zero by 2050, but taxes on pollution must also be made...
