Matthew Bell, Director in Frontier’s Public Policy Practice, today spoke at the Energy Technology Institute’s “10 years of innovation” celebration in London.
His speech focused on the drivers of change across the energy system, and how to deliver clean, affordable energy amidst the revolutions that are happening in the electricity, heating and transport sectors. Matthew highlighted the importance of shifting some of the focus away from the specific technologies and onto the drivers of technological change.
His speech urged government, regulators and companies to pay greater attention to the current drivers of change, including changing ways in which customers express and fulfil their demand for energy, and the implications of the UK’s wider Industrial Strategy for the electricity, heating and transport sectors. He also mentioned how a renewed focus on some of these themes – alongside technology-specific measures in areas such as carbon capture and storage, batteries and efficient homes – would bring into focus economic and policy actions that can otherwise be overlooked. The actions include:
- Greater use of economic regulation (e.g. during price control reviews)
- Pilots, trials and behavioural measures (e.g. in regional transport and heating strategies)
- Carbon pricing
He concluded that a greater focus on the above three areas, alongside the more traditional use of subsidies, regulatory standards and R&D funding, is likely to result in more discovery and deployment, higher productivity and low greenhouse gas emissions.
Frontier regularly advises clients on issues that link climate, energy and industrial strategy and their implications for public policy and private sector decisions.
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