The government’s “Energy Security Strategy” announced on April 7, 2022 – giving the green light for new oil and gas production in the North Sea – has had little or no impact on energy efficiency.
It reformulated a support program for homeowners that had fallen short. In June of the following year, hints by government ministers about more funding were hollow PR: they were talking about reallocating cash already invested in public sector buildings.
decarbonization
The actual installation rate of energy efficient installations has dropped by 90% over the past decade. The energy security strategy includes a target of installing 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2030 – compared to 19 million. To date, the installation rate is 10,000 per year.
For years, urban planners and decarbonization researchers have been advising governments to start retrofitting homes. The government’s own business sector said so in a major 2018 report – the same climate change committee urged action in 2020.
Campaign groups have recognised the potential to link the fight over the cost of living with the fight to take serious action against climate change.
Climate activists from Friends of the Earth and Extinction Rebellion joined the picket line for railroad workers, pointing out that well-funded public transport is not only good for those who work on public transport, but critical to decarbonizing transport and reducing the consumption of large amounts of fossil fuels. important.
elite
The movement can learn from the “yellow vest” protests in France in 2018. The activities were sparked by the inclusion of a carbon tax on end consumers in the budget, leading to higher diesel prices.
Inspired by the Macron government’s neoliberal economic strategy, the “yellow vests” rightly see this as essentially a regressive tax. While most movements agree that action on climate is needed, they see no reason for French workers to pay for it when elite privilege is protected.
They fear the alienation of the vast majority of French society from the political process. They coined the phrase “the elites talk about the end of the world, but we worry about the end of the month”.
Lesser known is the slogan that responded to it: “End of the world, end of the month, same fight!” Jubilee Climate and other movement groups are now mobilizing around this principle.
struggle
If we don’t deal with the energy bill crisis with “the same struggle”! Get close, and then the populist right will step in, attacking the government’s “net zero” strategy, falsely claiming that decarbonization will hurt household incomes.
Equally important, are conversations in the community about how the energy system works; about past movements that demanded energy as a right and/or public service rather than a commodity; and how we can be the source of the heat, light and electricity we need participants, rather than being passive “consumers”.
Actual steps:
• On June 18, the “No Pay” campaign was launched at the TUC showcasing the cost of living. Recalling the massive non-payment of the poll tax in 1988-89, the group aims to rally 1 million supporters to “reduce bills to affordable levels” and fight for the elimination of direct debits from October 1 , “if we are ignored”.
• Organizing to protect households that cannot pay for fuel, such as fuel poverty alleviation The local groups it supports do the same.
• Link climate protests to union action for a just transition.A good starting point is Leeds union council campaign For retrofits and heat pumps as an alternative to proposals backed by the fossil fuel industry to convert natural gas networks to hydrogen.
• Interact with local councils that have declared a climate emergency but have not acted. climate emergency Manchester Provides a great example of how to support and challenge councils on greening issues and link up with co-ops and community energy projects such as carbon cooperative Manchester and South East London Community Energy.
this author
Dr. Simon Pirani’s blog is at www.peoplenature.org and tweets @simon pilani 1. This article appears in the latest issue of Renaissance and Ecologists Magazine, available now.
