Despite the general hullabaloo over climate inside government at the moment – including the resignations of Chris Skidmore and Climate Change Committee CEO Chris Stark – Rishi Sunak remains committed to reaching the 2050 UK Net Zero target. His position falls between two stools: doing a bit more on North Sea oil, but sticking to the big 2050 target. As we enter 2024, the rubber is now hitting the road on the countdown to Net Zero, along with the associated costs for taxpayers…

Key to reaching Net Zero for any future Labour government is a process called carbon capture and storage – which syphons off carbon emissions at the point of electricity generation. Carbon capture technology is not cheap and generally requires government investment. Guido hears that the UK government will, in the next 24 hours, approve a significant scheme in North Yorkshire. You’d expect it would be welcome news for the green lobby…

It’s curious, then, to find energy think tank Ember – Labour’s “independent climate advisers” according to The Guardian – out attacking the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero ahead of the move. The Drax scheme (whatever you make of Net Zero) will avoid taxpayer’s money being spent on a range of policies such as the imposition of heat pumps (735,000 to be precise, costing £5 billion), loathed by homeowners, or increasing imported biomass by 10%, which greenies themselves claim to hate. The project is set to be endorsed by ministers partly because it will save taxpayers £700 million a year – or £25 a household – vs other more costly routes to Net Zero nirvana. Further complicating things for its critics, it will also create 10,000 jobs, underwriting 7000 more. In high tax times, if we must continue to have Net Zero, it must be done as efficiently as possible. The climate will be right for politicians who work this one out, Labour or otherwise…