What went right this week: renewables-1; oil-0, plus more

As the Middle East conflict threatens global oil supplies, timely analysis finds that achieving net zero in the UK will be cheaper than staying hooked on fossil fuels during such a crisis. 

In its latest report, the UK’s independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) put the cost of reaching net zero by 2050 at £4bn a year, or £100bn in total. This, it added, was equivalent to the energy-related costs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The fallout from the war in Iran is likely to be an ever greater shock, analysts warn. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a choke-point for oil shipments, is already hiking up energy prices globally.

“In light of current world events, it’s more important than ever for the UK to move away from being reliant on volatile foreign fossil fuels, to clean, domestic energy,” said Nigel Topping, the CCC’s chair . 

While the war in Iran has sparked calls from some politicians to ramp up domestic fossil fuel production in the UK, analysis from Carbon Brief – also published this week – finds that doing so would have a negligible impact on energy security.    

“The continued expansion of renewables and low-carbon technologies offers far greater protection against volatile gas imports than new domestic drilling,” it found. 

Image: Hryshchyshen Serhii