The government will need to “take on net-zero nimbys” and ramp up public investment to decarbonise Britain’s homes, transport and electricity system, a leading thinktank has said.
With Keir Starmer promising a rapid transition to decarbonise the power system by 2030, a report by the Resolution Foundation said achieving the target would require more government spending and private investment.
However, the thinktank said projects required to meet the goal – including new solar farms, battery storage, and onshore wind turbines – were likely to face resistance from local groups. It said many renewables projects would take place in wealthier parts of the country, and two-thirds of proposed solar projects would be in the richest 40% of neighbourhoods.
“Doing this effectively will require overcoming opposition to development from net-zero nimbys, who often live in wealthier parts of the country,” said Jonny Marshall, a senior economist at the Resolution Foundation.
“The government must be prepared to win these battles, which won’t be popular with some voters but are vital for the country as a whole.”
The thinktank said options for dealing with the friction could include taking responsibility out of local hands to unblock development, or providing financial incentives to smooth opposition. Alternatively, allowing local opposition could “stymie decarbonisation”.
Starmer’s government is already taking steps by lifting a de facto ban on new onshore wind turbines in England, relaxing planning laws, and dropping the legal defence of a proposed new coalmine. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, last week drew criticism from Conservative MPs over the green-lighting of a new £600m energy farm in their constituencies on the Cambridgeshire/Suffolk border.
The Resolution Foundation’s former chief executive, Torsten Bell, who became a Labour MP earlier this month, has criticised politicians who are critical of new energy projects.
This includes the Green party co-leader Adrian Ramsay, who has called for a pause in the construction of electricity pylons in his East Anglian constituency, described by National Grid as “vital infrastructure” for electricity generated by offshore windfarms.
Bell wrote on X last week: “You can be pro-net zero or pro-zero building but not both …”. Ramsay, who is MP for Waveney Valley, has called on the government to consider other options, which he says would be more appropriate.
Labour this year drastically scaled back a promise to spend £28bn a year on green infrastructure, fearing it would be weaponised by the Conservatives ahead of the general election.
Last week the watchdog Committee on Climate Change said the new government needed to oversee a ramping up of renewable energy generation or the UK will breach its international obligations under the Paris agreement.
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said the government was “wasting no time” in taking action on green energy.
“In just one week, we have swept away barriers to onshore wind farms, consented more solar power than has been installed in the past year and set out plans for a solar rooftop revolution.
“It is also important we listen to people’s concerns, and where communities host clean energy infrastructure they should benefit directly from it.”
