In a major win for Policy Exchange, the official body advising the UK Government has recommended it considers the adoption of carbon border adjustment tariffs to help meet the Net Zero carbon emissions target. Policy Exchange first set out a plan for how this could be achieved in its 2018 report The Future of Carbon Pricing, launched by former Chancellor Lord Darling and former Conservative Leader Lord Howard.

“Policy Exchange is… multidisciplinary, highly influential, a productive force in the heart of Westminster and our political system,” said Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, at a Policy Exchange event with Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Adrian Wooldridge, The Economist’s Bagehot columnist, to launch their new book, Capitalism in America.

Mr Carney added: “It’s at events like this where radical thoughts challenge orthodoxy and a culture of cross-disciplinary thinking fosters the creation of new ideas.”

The UK should consider setting up a new Space Council “along the same lines as the USA”, according to Chris Skidmore, Science Minister, in order to help create a “joined up government policy towards space”.

He was speaking at the launch of Policy Exchange’s Space Policy Unit – the first of its kind at any UK think tank – before a keynote address by the Secretary of the US Air Force Heather Wilson, in which she warned that the next generation of satellites must be built with defensive and offensive capabilities. Watch a video of the event here and visit Policy Exchange’s Space Policy Unit homepage.

“Policy Exchange is doing wonderful work on trying to rethink capitalism in the light of growing concentrations of wealth, and social policy in the light of growing public alienation,” said the Economist’s Bagehot column. “Its work on reviving a sense of place and trying to improve the built environment is particularly valuable. After a couple of decades of Audit Commission-style utilitarianism it is wonderful to have policy thinkers addressing issues like ‘belonging’ and ‘beauty’.” Read the full column here.

At the prestigious annual Prospect Think Tank of the Year Awards, Policy Exchange has won best UK think tank in the Energy and Environment category. The unit’s research has ranged from the role of future nuclear modular reactors to cleaning up vehicle emissions in Britain’s cities. The judges recognised that our work paid “particular attention to the economic drivers behind environmental policy”. The same week as winning this award, the Unit published a major new report setting how the UK can reduce carbon emissions and make UK heavy industry more competitive through an economy-wide carbon tax. The work and convening power of Policy Exchange’s Britain in the World unit was also recognised at the awards, with the visit by US Defense Secretary James Mattis thought particularly notable.