Not to be outdone by the Treasury’s admission that net zero will cost a bomb, BEIS have now commissioned a report that explains how the transition might affect “gender, race and social inclusion”, and argues that “the BLM movement has drawn attention to the structural inequalities and institutional racism that low carbon transitions must navigate.” So not only is decarbonising going to cost a fortune, we now also have to make sure it isn’t racist.

The 83-page report – which is actually only the “first stage” of the overall “Gender, Race and Social Inclusion” project – reviews existing literature on “user experiences in energy transitions [and] approaches for inclusive policymaking.” The second part will offer actual policy prescriptions later. For now, here are a few highlights:

“Women may be more likely to undertake tasks including laundry or cooking, women often engage in more energy-intensive activities within the home relative to men, and be almost the sole users of some energy intensive technologies.”

“the perception that ‘high-tech’ products are in the ‘man’s domain’ may mean women may be left out from decisions around technologies such as EVs [electric vehicles] and rooftop solar.”

“Recent migrants may face barriers to accessing energy technologies and services due to language, confidence and trust barriers […] This can translate into a lack of trust in energy suppliers…”

Speaking to Guido, a source within BEIS tore into the report:

“Compiling dross like this has become an industry in itself in the Civil Service and it’s got to stop. Producing reams of meaningless babble like this is a waste of taxpayers’ money and threats to discredit, and distract from, the importance of cutting emissions.”

Another Tory source added “We’ve got bigger challenges than fretting over decolonising energy – whatever that is – or whether LGBT+ allies feel excluded from the heat pump grant scheme”…