What do Reform UK and other political parties have in store for green policies?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

With the UK General Election standing just around the corner, the nation’s media is ablaze with discussions and debate surrounding the various political parties’ policies; especially green policies, clean energy initiatives and sustainable pathways.

Having explored the Conservatives’ and Labour’s green policies, it’s about time we explored Reform UK and the other political parties’ green policies.

Reform UK’s controversial green policies

“Net Zero is crippling our economy” is the leading headline in the renewables section of Reform UK’s 2024 manifesto. A strong and controversial statement from the party that goes on to claim Net Zero is pushing up energy bills, damaging British industries and “making us less secure”.

So, according to Reform UK, what’s the solution to the apparently “damaging” Net Zero initiative?

Pledging to scrap Net Zero entirely, Reform UK intends to plant more trees, fast-track North Sea gas & oil licences, fast-track nuclear energy projects, incentivise lithium mining for electric batteries, and scrap £10 billion renewable energy subsidies, among other promises.

And, however strong a statement Reform UK makes around Net Zero, it’s interesting to note that their manifesto doesn’t put forward any statistics at all in support of how “damaging” it apparently is to the UK economy or how, indeed, renewable energy is pushing up energy bills.

In fact, many of Reform UK’s views and proposals on Net Zero and the UK’s future energy security feel retrogressive; especially considering the progress made with renewable energy projects and policies particularly over the last couple of years, and the increasing move away from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy sources - such as anaerobic digestion plants and EfWs - which have helped to localise energy consumption and successfully recycle local waste into useable energy for nearby communities.

What’s more, as we explored as part of the Conservatives’ manifesto, although nuclear energy may well be the future of clean and efficient renewable energy, getting the UK nuclear energy ready and nuclear energy plants successfully to consumer stage could take decades and millions - if not billions - of pounds worth of investment to achieve.

So, what would we do in the meantime? Revert back to gas & oil consumption, seemingly.

Reform UK does, however, also make a very fleeting reference to increasing and incentivising tidal power as well as ‘clean synthetic fuel’ and to ‘explore clean coal mining’.

The Liberal Democrats have a lot to say on climate change and the environment

The Liberal Democrats have a lot to say on climate change, green policies and restoring the natural environment for future generations, according to their latest manifesto.

The Party claims it will “hold big companies to account by giving them a duty to protect the environment, including banning water companies from dumping raw sewage into rivers, lakes and coastal areas.”

What’s more, they go on to state a number of interesting policies and initiatives to drive down energy prices and increase renewable energy adoption, claiming they will:

• Make homes warmer and cheaper to heat with a ten-year emergency upgrade programme

• Expand incentives for households to install solar panels

• Invest in renewable power so that 90% of the UK’s electricity is generated from renewables by 2030.

• Appoint a Chief Secretary for Sustainability in the Treasury to ensure that the economy is sustainable

• Establish national and local citizens’ assemblies to give people real involvement in the decisions needed to tackle climate change

• Improving standards for new homes to ensure they are warm, cheap to heat and produce zero emissions

But, just as Labour won’t disclose how or where the funds will be raised to support their big green plans, the Liberal Democrats don’t suggest how they will raise the money they need to invest in all of these green promises which, particularly when it comes to public opinion, is crucial to acceptance and subsequent adoption.

Alongside the importance of preserving our environment and tackling climate change, the Liberal Democrats lay much importance on driving down energy costs and making our homes cheaper to heat. However, if this comes at the price of significantly higher taxes, will the public deem it “worth it”?

“Powering Up Fairer, Greener Energy” - the Green Party’s green policies

On the reverse side of the coin from Reform UK is the Green Party who leads their green policy with the desire to accelerate clean energy investment and delivery by phasing out fossil fuels and pushing for:

• Wind to provide around 70% of the UK’s electricity by 2030

• Delivery of 80GW of offshore wind, 53GW of onshore wind, and 100GW of solar by 2035

• Investment in energy storage capacity and more efficient electricity distribution

• Communities to own their own energy sources

What’s more, the Party wants to phase out “unsafe” and “expensive” nuclear energy projects.

And, whilst this all might be very encouraging for the renewable energy sector, there’s a distinct focus on off & onshore wind and solar power, with no mention of other renewable energy sources such as AD plants, EfWs, or associated initiatives/technologies such as CCUS or green hydrogen.

With widely differing approaches to green policies and the UK’s future energy security - some controversial, some interesting and some well-meaning yet not entirely inclusive - it’ll be interesting to see which party captures the hearts and minds of the people on Thursday and what that will mean for the future of renewable energy.