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Tim Lord Profile picture
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30 Mar, 5 tweets, 3 min read
ONS low carbon jobs stats published yesterday – my thoughts on what this tells us about government policy, and how we need to figure out what a “green job” really is. (1/)
institute.global/policy/what-gr…
Overall, job and turnover stats in the low carbon sectors measured by the ONS are pretty flat – with a decline (within the margin of error) between 2018 and 2019. (2/)
Stagnation in jobs/turnover results from lack of ambitious and stable policy – particularly in jobs-rich areas like energy efficiency. Green Homes Grant one example of where that isn't happening (cc @rharrabin), (3/) bbc.co.uk/news/science-e…
More fundamentally, we need to widen focus from job numbers in a few sectors to focus on whole-economy outcomes – by working out the transition that all sectors and regions need to go through, the opportunities that flow from that, and the skills requirements to deliver it. /Ends
PS – great @mbaxteriema thread here with some background on the numbers; and @businessgreen piece with more detail.

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More from @timbolord

Tim Lord Profile picture
31 Mar
Really important report from @escatapult on an underestimated element of the net zero transition – how we design electricity markets to deliver objectives in a low cost way that works for consumers. (1/)
Decarbonisation of power is seen as “the easy bit” of delivering net zero because we’ve had success to date. But next phase of the transition is different to the last – electricity will play a different role in our energy system, and markets are not optimised for that. (2/)
We focus heavily on technology innovation, but innovation in market design is just as important. UK has long been a leader – from privatisation in the 80s/90s, to Electricity Market Reform a decade ago. We should be a leader again. (3/)
Read 12 tweets
Tim Lord Profile picture
29 Mar
I was asked at a Q&A recently about Thick of It style stories from working in government. Looking at some old HMG docs on climate today reminded me of a little story which sheds light on how decisions sometimes get made in Whitehall… Long 🧵
Disclaimer: Obviously decisions usually get made in a rational way on best available evidence etc etc. But not all the time.
So, we were about to launch a major climate/energy strategy – everyone was very excited about it. Big launch planned, parliamentary debate, top of the news.
Read 18 tweets
Tim Lord Profile picture
22 Mar
New report out today: “Polls Apart? Mapping the Politics of Net Zero”. We’ve looked at public opinion data on climate action and find record levels of concern – but also real risk of growing political divisions. Thread (1/) @institutegc institute.global/policy/polls-a…
Recent polling data indicates high levels of concern, and there is currently consensus around climate change in the main parties’ positions – 95% of voters supported parties committed to net zero at the 2019 election. (2/)
We’ve explored how deep that concern is, and whether a political coalition to act on net zero can be built and maintained. (3/)
Read 14 tweets
Tim Lord Profile picture
17 Mar
Significant announcements from HMG today on industrial decarbonisation and cutting emissions from the public sector. Press notice seems to be out before the document, but some early thoughts… (1/)
The good: £1bn for public sector energy efficiency / low carbon heating is positive –public sector has to lead if business is to follow. Funding for industrial projects starts to put flesh on bones of “green industrial revolution” (but doesn’t look like new money). (2/)
The less good: HMG funding for net zero industry is important, but long-term business models are what really matters. Looks like the strategy will be light on detail on carbon pricing, competitiveness, decarbonising steel etc. More a set of ambitions than a plan. (3/)
Read 7 tweets
Tim Lord Profile picture
3 Mar
Important debate emerging on the meaning of “net zero” and whether the risks of it being debased as a prompt for climate action mean we need a new language / objective. My view – having worked on the UK legislation – is that it’s worth fighting for, for three reasons.
First, net zero (rather than absolute zero) is the right objective. Absolute zero is not plausible in areas like aviation/agriculture – and it’s good that we have an incentive for development of negative emission technologies so we can reduce CO2 concentrations further in future.
Second, no matter what the terminology / objective, the problem that some people / orgs will try to debase the term, or present insufficient action as compliant with it, isn’t going away. So saying we have to be e.g. compliant with 1.5 degrees won’t solve the issue.
Read 6 tweets
Tim Lord Profile picture
1 Mar
Ahead of Budget – my piece on why we’re having the wrong debate about fuel duty, and should be worrying more that £30bn of revenue is going to go in the next 15 years. Urgent need to focus on the alternatives, particularly road pricing. (1/) @InstituteGC
institute.global/policy/we-need…
Fuel duty raises about £30 billion a year – and as well documented, hasn’t risen since 2010. Revenues are £10 billion lower, and carbon emissions up to 5% higher, as a result. (2/) Image
The rise of EVs means that c1/3 of the car fleet could avoid fuel duty by 2030 - meaning we lose £30bn revenue, increase congestion, and target motoring costs on the least able to pay. (3/)
Read 7 tweets

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