Environment & Energy
Latest Environment & Energy Publications
Going Round in Circles: Developing a new approach to waste policy following Brexit
Richard Howard and Tom GallowayBrexit presents a huge opportunity for the UK Government to develop a new approach to waste and resources policy. Rather than adopting the EU’s proposed ‘Circular Economy Package’, which would cost British businesses an extra £2 billion over the next twenty years, the British government should use Brexit to define our own approach.
Next Steps for the Carbon Price Floor
Richard HowardIn this new report, Richard Howard — Policy Exchange’s Head of Energy and Environment — urges the government to provide clarity about the future of the Carbon Price Support in the forthcoming Autumn Statement
Power 2.0: Building a smarter, greener, cheaper electricity system
Richard Howard and Zoe BengherbiNew Policy Exchange report sets out the economic and environmental case for creating a smarter power system, using clean technologies such as battery storage and demand response.
Latest Environment & Energy Blogs
The secret to cheaper energy – it’s all in the cost curve
The cost of energy is frequently cited as one of the issues voters care about most, but how can we bring costs down? Various new electricity generation technologies, like wave energy, tidal lagoons and small modular nuclear reactors, stand on the precipice of mass deployment. But industry alone may not be willing or able to make the leap from demonstration and commercial deployment. Should the Government intervene to help bridge the gap? In this article originally published in Business Green, Policy Exchange Research Fellow Matt Rooney explores the concept of ‘technological learning’. Can other technologies replicate the success of solar panels and wind turbines to bring costs down and make them competitive with established technologies?
Challenges and opportunities for the UK trade in waste
Following his evidence session to the Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub Committee, Energy and Environment Research fellow Joshua Burke reflects on the opportunities and challenges facing the UKs trade in waste post Brexit. The impact of tariff and non-tariff barriers on the regulatory, spatial, environmental and economic dimensions that govern the UK’s trade in waste are examined in the context of Refuse Derived Fuel.
The Helm Cost of Energy Review: the invisible hand versus the activist state
Matthew Rooney, Energy and Environment Research Fellow at Policy Exchange, responds to Dieter Helm’s recent Cost of Energy Review. The review, commissioned by the Government and released last week, sparked much debate online. The main dividing line, Rooney explains, is between those who believe that an activist state and large subsidies for renewable energy deployment are necessary to bring down costs, and those who think the Government’s main role is to create a level playing field for low carbon technologies to compete without subsidy. Helm’s big idea is a carbon tax with border carbon adjustments. Could that work and what are its potential benefits?
Latest Environment & Energy News
Where should the Chancellor focus his attention for a low-carbon transition?
Joshua BurkePolicy Exchange Energy and Environment Research Fellow Joshua Burke writes for Business Green with some recommendations for how the Chancellor, Phillip Hammond, should focus his attention for a low-carbon transition.
The electric economy: achieving our low carbon energy future
Policy ExchangePolicy Exchange hosted top experts from industry and Parliament for a debate on the future of Britain’s electricity system and the potential role of small modular nuclear reactors in meeting our energy needs. Rachel Reeves MP (Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee) introduced our distinguished panel of speakers including Rt Hon Lord Howell of Guildford (former Secretary of State for Energy), Harry Holt (President of Rolls-Royce Nuclear) and Dr Jenifer Baxter (Head of Energy and Environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers). Lord Howell’s comments on the opportunities Brexit presents for nuclear research were covered by the Telegraph.
Policy Exchange’s Richard Howard talks to BBC Wales about Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon
Policy ExchangeFollowing his blog on the subject earlier this year, Richard Howard – Policy Exchange’s Head of Environment & Energy – talked to BBC Wales about the Government’s delay in responding to Hendry report on the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon.
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