Priorities For The New UK Government: Decarbonising The Power System

A new government has been in power in Westminster since July. In our Policy & Practice miniseries, Priorities for the new UK Government, we will explore key issues on which the government is—or ought to be—focusing its attention. Net Zero and energy security were some of the big focuses of the Labour party on the campaign trail, but it remains to be seen how the new government will implement those ideas. What are the new government’s plans for decarbonising the power system? Can it be done without public sector investment? Will the private sector foot the bill? How can proponents of energy decarbonisation fight the short-termism which is so prevalent in investment in infrastructure in the UK?

About the speakers

James Richardson is the Acting Chief Executive, Director of Analysis and Chief Economist of the Climate Change Committee. He was previously Chief Economist at the National Infrastructure Commission where he oversaw the UK’s first ever National Infrastructure Assessment and studies including managing the risk of drought, the role of economic regulators, and engineered greenhouse gas removals. 

Rebecca Beresford is the Director of Markets at the National Energy System Operator. She previously was the Director of Net Zero Strategy & Policy at EDF (UK). She has also held several other key roles within EDF, covering retail market policy & regulation, smart metering, sustainability, and generation strategy. 

Jess Ralston is the Head of Energy for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, which provides independent analysis on decarbonisation. Leading the Unit’s Energy Programme, her work focuses on net zero, power, heat and buildings decarbonisation in the UK. Prior to this, she worked as a Policy and Commercial Analyst for Ecuity Consulting LLP, primarily working on energy efficiency, low carbon heating and innovation. 

Arthur Downing is the Strategy Director at Octopus Energy. Before that, he was a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group, focusing on electricity network strategy, operations and regulation. He also previously served as the Director of Strategy and Regulations at National Gas Transmission and as the EV charging Strategy Lead at the National Grid. 

Chair: Prof Jim Watson is the Director of the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources and a Professor of Energy Policy at the Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources.  

About this event

This event will be recorded and the video will be uploaded to UCL Political Science YouTube channel. You can subscribe to their YouTube channel to be alerted when the recording is uploaded.

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