A poll by the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE), found that 89% of decentralised energy businesses still want to step-up decarbonisation efforts in the UK, despite decarbonisation delays.
Receiving responses from the 250 energy professionals attending the ADE’s annual Decentralised Energy Conference, the poll also found that 75% reported their confidence was damaged following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement on 20 September.
The Prime Minister’s announcement, which confirmed that both the ban on the sale of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles as well as the ban on fossil fuel boilers will be delayed until 2035, was met with heavy criticism from members of the energy industry.
The ADE’s conference took place the day after Sunak’s announcement.
Only 20% of those polled by the ADE said the announcement had not affected their business confidence, whilst 5% said it had strengthened their outlook.
According to ADE the majority of attendees reaffirmed their commitment to advocate for policies which “empower businesses, protect the public, support the economy and foster confidence in the pursuit of a sustainable and prosperous energy future for the UK.”
This left only 6% who believed the sector ought to remain in the status quo and 7% who said they would “stay under the radar.”
“The delays announced [on 20 September] not only jeopardise our commitments to tackle climate change head-on but undermine the UK’s economic prosperity and impose unwarranted financial burdens on consumers during a cost-of-living crisis,” said Joanne Wade, chief strategic advisor at the ADE.
“While the Conservative Party boasts a distinguished legacy of decisive climate action, yesterday’s speech threatens to derail this tradition. These delays not only risk destabilising our commitment to addressing climate change but will also lead to lost jobs and the erosion of business confidence in investing in the UK. This comes at a time when other nations are actively courting such investments, making it even more vital that we demonstrate unwavering resolve in our deployment of energy efficiency measures, heat networks, flexibility upgrades and industrial decarbonisation.”