UK climate advisors rebuke Liz Truss over plans to boost gas production

The new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss has reportedly received unprecedented criticism from the government's independent climate and infrastructure advisors for putting more emphasis on boosting British gas production rather than on policies to reduce consumption.

Truss has focused on several energy policy initiatives to control the rising cost of living.

Reportedly, the average energy bill would be fixed at £2,500 per year, and she will announce a cap on energy price increases without levying the windfall tax on energy producers.

Lord Deben, a former Conservative environment secretary, and Sir John Armitt, chair of the Committee on Climate Change and National Infrastructure Commission, respectively, wrote to Truss to warn against increasing gas output as a solution to the issue.

The letter stated that the UK cannot overcome this challenge by just boosting its natural gas production. Increasing local fossil fuel output could increase energy security, especially throughout this winter.

For the first time, a joint letter from the chairmen of the independent advisory organizations has addressed the prime minister.

They urged Truss, the new chancellor, as well as the business secretary to put more effort into reducing consumer and business energy demand.

This would call for measures like home insulation, rules mandating government organizations to enhance the energy efficiency of their infrastructures, a consumer energy advice line, and increasing renewable energy production, especially solar power, and onshore wind.

Truss has not stated much about how she will improve home insulation since the UK no longer has a national insulation program for average-income households due to the cancellation of the green homes grant last year. She has pledged to eliminate green taxes, possibly including those that cover the cost of insulation for low-income and vulnerable homes.

The Committee on Climate Change issued a warning earlier this year that increased North Sea gas output would not likely result in lower gas prices and could compromise the UK's goal of generating net zero emissions by 2050.

Source credit: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/07/gas-drive-will-not-solve-energy-crisis-liz-truss-told