Last week’s Spring Budget was widely criticised for missed opportunities on energy efficiency and growing low-carbon industries.

Key points from the useful summary by Carbon Brief

• UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt failed to mention the term “climate change” at all when setting out the government’s spring budget – the first since it was confirmed that 2023 was Earth’s hottest year on record.
• The government is freezing fuel duty on petrol and diesel for the 14th year in a row, a policy which has added up to 7% to UK emissions, according to previous Carbon Brief.
• The chancellor also announced a year-long extension to the windfall tax on oil-and-gas companies, but failed to commit to spending the money raised on new climate investments.
• Hunt did not offer any new policies to help boost the rollout of key low-carbon technologies, such as electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps.
• He also pledged no further changes to the government’s long-term regime of maximising oil and gas production.
• Alongside the budget, the government also confirmed key details of its sixth auction round for new renewable energy projects, including a pot worth just over £1bn.

The Guardian: Budget fell far short on UK green investment