Shocker: UK’s Costs for Net Zero Are Greater than the Country’s GDP!
New official figures suggest Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband’s Net Zero push could cost an eye-popping £4.5 trillion – more than the UK’s entire GDP – with households left to foot the bill. The Mail has more.
Critics said the extraordinary mounting costs for measures such as wind farms, solar panels, green heating systems and upgrades to roads and railways are significantly higher than previous forecasts and could “bankrupt” the economy.
The figures, quietly published last month by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) – a Government quango responsible for Britain’s energy systems – includes an estimated £585 billion to be forked out by ordinary households to pay for the move away from energy-guzzling boilers towards eco-friendly heat pumps.
And new wind farms and electricity pylons across the country would cost £1 trillion, it estimates, while switching to electric vehicles and building more charging stations could add further costs of up to £2.6 trillion.
In total, NESO estimates Britain will need to spend £182 billion a year to reach its targets by 2050. …
The potential multi-trillion-pound bill will pile further pressure on the Government to rethink its eco goals as fears mount that household bills will be pushed up to accommodate the green transition.
Last month, reports emerged that Energy Secretary Ed Miliband was poised to splurge billions of pounds on household grants for solar power, batteries and heat pumps in a scramble to meet Labour’s promise to cut energy bills.
He is expected to set out proposals next month to allocate up to £13 billion over the next four years as part of the Government’s warm homes plan. …
Previous estimates from the UK’s fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, suggested the move to Net Zero would cost more than £800 billion over the next two decades – with the public purse shelling out £30 billion a year.
Worth reading in full.