ClearGreen

“It is about creating new preferences and identities, locking in existing support while expanding support among new groups that can add their voice and votes to the pressure for a faster transition.”

As Barack Obama, US president between 2008 and 2016 and a key player in the 2015 Paris Agreement, noted: “Climate change is one of those issues governments are notoriously bad at dealing with, requiring politicians to put in place disruptive, expensive, and unpopular policies now in order to prevent a slow-rolling crisis in the future.”  (A Promised Land). 

To overcome the temptation for politicians to renege on their climate commitments requires a bedrock of public support to lock-in change when the going gets tough. The problem is that while a record four fifths of people in the UK say they are “concerned” about climate change and the environment, it does not appear in their top five ‘most important issues’ and lacks political salience as an issue (IPSOS MORI poll). 

To win broader public support, mitigation policies need to generate faster and more tangible private benefits from transitioning. It is not enough to rely on goodwill sentiment about saving the planet. The good news is that the energy transition is capable of delivering many tangible benefits directly to households. For example, electric cars offer a superior driving experience and are cheaper to run than petrol and diesel ones costing as little as 2 pence each mile driven – a fraction of the cost of conventional cars (HM Government, 2022). This message appears to have cut through to car owners. Surveys suggest nearly half of petrol, diesel and hybrid drivers are likely or very likely to switch to an EV in the next 10 years (Office for National Statistics, 2021). Younger respondents are keener than older ones to make the switch.There are 28 million households in the UK and 80% own at least one car or van according to government figures (National Travel Survey, 2021). A faster EV transition could ‘democratise’ the energy transition and deliver private benefits to a wide group of the electorate.

However, policy attention is needed in two areas to ensure a fair EV transition in which everyone benefits. The first is to ensure that poorer as well as wealthy households can afford an electric car. The higher price of EVs is still a real barrier to people switching. This will change as the price of new EVs gradually comes down driven by cheaper imports, and the second hand market for takes off.  But this could take time. Meanwhile, targeted subsidies to help poorer households to trade up to a EV could help widen the benefits of an energy transition to all. The Plug-in Car Grant was available to all. More targeted subsidies would be cheaper as well as more progressive.

The second area of support is to ensure a regionally comprehensive public charging network in the mainstreaming of EV use.  In April 2023, there were 60 public charging devices per 100,000 of population in the UK. London and Scotland had the highest provision with 145 and 72 devices per 100,000 respectively. Northern Ireland (20 devices per 100,000), the North West (33) and Yorkshire and the Humber (37) had the lowest according to Zapmap. Firms that benefit from subsidies to install public charging devices should have an obligation to contribute to a universal network so that some regions are not left behind in the energy transition. 

Delivering actual and widespread benefits to UK households through a faster transition alongside targeted subsidies to promote EV purchases could help to expand support for climate mitigation among new groups that can add their voice and votes to the pressure for change.