Big Ben and a Union Jack flag

Commentaries and publications

This report presents insights on heat resilience policy and practice in the UK to inform future preparedness and responses to extreme heat, incorporating the experiences and views of decision-makers and practitioners who worked on the frontline of the 2022 heatwaves across England. Read more

The UK government has delivered on its promise to publish a strategy for driving the country’s economy towards net-zero emissions by 2050. Esin Serin and Anna Valero write that the economy-wide Net Zero Strategy provides further proof of the UK’s ambition to lead on global climate action as it calls on other countries to follow suit. Read more

CCUS is necessary for the UK to reach its net-zero goals. This report assesses economic and potential employment opportunities and implications for the skills needed, as well as transferable strengths and capabilities from other sectors and barriers and enablers for CCUS growth in the UK. Read more

People are most likely to support climate policies that they consider to be fair. With the recent rise in alarmist rhetoric around the ‘cost’ of net-zero and the need to ensure a just low-carbon transition, Josh Burke explores the case for recycling the proceeds of a carbon tax back to households. Read more

Banks need to show how they are aligning their balance sheets with the UK’s net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target, how they are enabling households and companies to become climate-resilient, and how the transition can be steered so that it is fair and inclusive. This report presents research findings and recommendations for how to achieve these aims. Read more

This paper describes an experiment on a nationally representative sample of UK households that aimed to quantify resistance to smart meter adoption and test for the existence of commonly cited market failures that inhibit the adoption of energy-saving technologies. The authors measured if households would adopt a smart meter without financial compensation and, for those households unwilling to do so, the subsidy level that would be necessary to persuade them. Read more

This study explores the distributional impacts of a net-zero-consistent carbon price across different household types and income deciles in the UK; and examines which combination of interventions may reduce carbon consumption and still be progressive. The authors find that it is possible to design a revenue recycling scheme that leaves fuel-poor and low-income households better off while driving the transition to net-zero emissions in the UK by 2050. Read more

In advance of the Budget, this policy report highlights areas of the UK economy where the public sector could leverage private investment and in so doing contribute to achieving the strategic priorities of regionally balanced growth and decarbonisation. Read more

The UK needs to adopt a strategic approach to decarbonisation and the transition to net-zero economic growth. This report focuses on the goods and services related to passenger vehicles, identifying the multiple areas in which the UK could be competitive: opportunities lie in diverse goods and services across value chains and stages of innovation. Read more

This submission was made to the Environment Agency's consultation on its draft strategy for flood and coastal risk management in England, and draws on the Grantham Research Institute's work and expertise over many years in this area. Read more

This paper summarises the Institute's submission to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ call for evidence on policy direction to prepare the UK for flooding and coastal erosion, drawing on a decade of work by the Grantham Research Institute with the insurance industry and policymakers addressing issues around climate change and adaptation. Read more

This report sets out the role that investors can play in delivering a just transition in the UK as the country works towards net-zero emissions, illustrating the implications through a set of place-based examples from Yorkshire and the Humber and setting out recommendations for investor action. Read more

In the first report from the Investing in a Just Transition UK project, the authors explore the extent of the challenge to ensure that action on climate change supports an inclusive economy in the UK, efforts that are already underway, and what actions investors can take. It includes a regional case study of Yorkshire and the Humber. Read more

This special report for the LSE Growth Commission shows why it is sensible for environmental sustainability to be at the heart of the UK’s growth strategy and how this can be achieved, setting out recommendations for government across the areas of innovation, infrastructure, skills and cities. Read more

This submission to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee’s inquiry on Leaving the EU looks at which aspects of EU policy should be retained and the potential impact of Brexit on Paris Agreement pledges. Read more

By applying our analytical framework we find an absence of formal incentive mechanisms for risk reduction in the existing and proposed Flood Re scheme. We identify the barriers for applying insurance to risk reduction and point to some possible modifications in the Flood Re proposal to deliver a greater link between risk transfer and risk reduction. Read more

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