Institute responds to Tony Blair Institute publication

Commenting on the publication by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change of ‘Why Britain Needs an Energy-Strategy Reset’, Bob Ward, Policy and Communications Director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said: “This is another trivial pamphlet from Tony Blair that complains about lots of challenges in achieving net zero but without offering any real solutions. It advocates for “climate realism” without once acknowledging the mounting costs of climate change impacts to the U.K.

It ignores the energy system beyond the power sector, and its call for more North Sea drilling would undermine the global goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 because it would make it impossible to persuade other fossil fuel producers to curtail production. More North Sea drilling would have no significant impact on the wholesale price of electricity and would not reduce prices for households and businesses. Overall this pamphlet reflects shallow thinking about British energy policy.”