From Business Green

Regulatory bodies should be given more responsibility for ensuring delivery of infrastructure under the government’s long-awaited National Infrastructure Strategy aligns with the UK’s net zero emissions target.

That is one of the key recommendations contained in a major new report from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which sets out its vision for how the government could galvanise private sector investment behind a sweeping infrastructure programme that would both drive a recovery from the coronavirus crisis and put the UK on track to meet its climate targets.

Achieving net zero emissions would require transformative investment in highly regulated industries such as energy and transport, and as such regulators should be given a “specific regard” to deliver the National Infrastructure Strategy and a “clear responsibility” to ensure regulatory policy aligns with the UK’s net zero ambitions, as well as other government strategic objectives on infrastructure, the CBI said.

The proposal echoes similar calls from leading figures in the energy industry and a number of opposition MPs, who have long argued that regulatory bodies such as Ofgem and Ofwat require an explicit mandate to support and enable the net zero transition. Critics have argued that a tendency by regulators to prioritise shorter term concerns, such as limiting increases in energy costs, has hampered investment in critical green infrastructure, such as smart grid upgrade programmes.

Among the other recommendations listed in the CBI paper are for calls for the National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure and Projects Authority to given greater independence and authority to hold government to account on infrastructure delivery progress, and proposals for the National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline to be reformed to provide greater clarity on investment opportunities for the private sector.

The report, dubbed Investing in Infrastructure, collates recommendations from investors, developers, engineers, and consultants that make up the CBI’s membership. It emphasises that the UK must plough ahead with a significant programme of infrastructure investment if it is to meet its climate ambitions and tap the economic gains projected to be delivered through green growth.

“The delivery of new infrastructure will also play a key role in supporting a green recovery, and progressing towards meeting the UK’s target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as modern networks and new methods of construction help cut emissions,” it states.

Read the CBI press release here.

Meanwhile, a new report from the Institute for Government says “stronger leadership and co-ordination from the prime minister is needed if the UK’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050 is to be credible.

This report warns that over a year on from adopting the target – a decision made by Theresa May but which Boris Johnson has endorsed since becoming prime minister – the UK has not yet confronted the scale of the task.

Meeting the commitment is a more difficult challenge than responding to the coronavirus crisis or getting Brexit done, and will require transformations in every sector of the UK economy, sustained investment over three decades and substantial changes to everyone’s lives.

The report says a lack of co-ordinated policies, constant changes of direction, a failure to gain public consent for measures and too little engineering expertise and delivery capability has left the UK well off track to meet its target. The absence of a comprehensive plan for achieving net zero has deterred private sector investment and left people unsure of how to act.

It calls on government to publish a clear plan setting out, sector by sector, how emissions reductions will be achieved and when decisions will be made where technology is uncertain. The Cabinet Office should be made responsible for co-ordinating the plan and holding departments to account for delivery.”

Read the IoG press release and access the report here.