Net Zero is a hot topic across the media and TV but it can all be quite confusing with different ways of implementing and interpreting this law. Incidentally, laws in this country, any laws, can be repealed, meaning they can be adjusted, changed, watered down, or cancelled with a new act of parliament.

I don’t want to get into the realms of politics but unfortunately most topics end up in the political arena, even if you try your best to avoid it. In theory and in practice, if this current government is not inclined to adjust the Net Zero law, by moving the 2050 deadline forward or rewording the act, the party elected in the 2024 general election will have the opportunity of taking the pressure off itself and look again at this law in a more practical and commonsense manner.

I am all for sustainability, and being more self-sufficient along with the protection of our environment which includes our rivers, woodlands, and wildlife, which I believe can be done without compromising the energy security of our Country whilst embracing the benefits of renewable energy as well as having a good stable foundation of UK energy as well as economic growth.

Sustainability and self- sufficiently starts with you and me. Small habits in what we buy and how we live can make a massive difference in managing the amount of waste we produce each year, also, reducing the amount of food from faraway lands and reducing the amount of single use plastics we use. Protecting our lands and planting more trees, even in urban areas and being more self-sufficient by using renewables where possible, are the things we need to concentrate on for the future.

Our national grid which produces the electricity we all use in this Country has not been updated or improved by successive Governments for decades.  Moving forward, if all our homes are forced to change to electric heating without addressing the infrastructure to deliver this amount of energy, then we are in trouble moving forward.  The current national grid will not be able to cope so what would that mean? More blackouts, rationed electricity, no computers, more expensive bills, system failures, and no street lighting and more civil unrest.  

Without more infrastructure to produce the amount of electricity needed we are being taken down a road by our current government that will leave us open to hostile invasions from other nations via our energy weaknesses.

The EPC certificates applied to our homes to show how efficient they are range from A to F, but if the climate change committee does not wake up, in the future some homes will not be eligible to sell or to get a mortgage, this could be a major problem for millions of homeowners. This government’s net zero policy is an admirable ambition, but its failings on every level is riddled with panic trying to run up a hill which is getting steeper and steeper with each step. Eventually, at some point someone needs to stop running and shout stop.

There is probably a growing consensus that we in this Country want to protect, enhance, and improve our environment in all its forms, we also need a strong economy and a reliable and sustainable energy infrastructure. With the right leadership that has vision and a backbone to get things done, the UK can once again be at the top of its game.

We all know that fossil fuels are finite. They will not last forever, so we need to gradually transition to renewable energy sources. At this moment in time technology is not ready. Lots of ideas are in the research stage, most of these ideas are way too expensive at the present time to move forward and grow new industries. 

This Government needs to act like a responsible adult and stop panicking. They need to have a parallel plan. One for the use of fossil fuels, which means building mini nuclear power stations around the Country to provide the population with access to electricity. The second parallel plan is to encourage individual households to help themselves by becoming more self-sufficient by installing renewable energy sources in their homes at their own cost. Not many people want to see vast swathes of farmland taken up with wind farms or solar farms. They would much rather see farmland used to grow our food and feed livestock. But these mixed farms can also create wildlife havens through planting hedgerows and trees and protecting woodlands and rivers. If this plan is carried out with thought and perseverance, it can be the plan we need for the next generation moving forward towards the twenty-second century. 

As a footnote to this article, there is a project in the works to grow the national grid by installing pylons in a couple of areas of the UK, however, these pylons in some cases can be detrimental to health. Cables should therefore be buried underground.