Energy Policy: Politics v Economics
15th May 2006 publication
Published in the New Statesman, 15th May 2006, pp. viii-ix. Energy policy tends to bring out the worst in politicians of all parties. Not only do they want to pursue multiple and often incompatible goals, but they have an inherent tendency to support pet technologies. Thus when the last energy review began in 2001, the Prime Minister declared that the aim was 'cheap energy' which was also 'sustainable and secure' - and indeed, that energy review went on to make the extraordinary claim that a 60 per cent cut in carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2050 could be achieved at little cost to the economy.