Net Zero in Peril? The case for a new ‘low carbon social contract’ in the UK скачать в хорошем качестве

Net Zero in Peril? The case for a new ‘low carbon social contract’ in the UK

About this talk: Net Zero represents an opportunity to regenerate our communities; reduce energy, housing, and transport costs; and build social cohesion and greater prosperity. However, most people in the UK have felt their living standards worsen for over a decade. Far right parties are capitalising on this discontent, and are blaming decarbonisation and broader progressive agendas for this malaise. The mainstream low carbon policy regime is failing to address the material concerns of low- and middle-income communities, through an over reliance on private ownership, market mechanisms, and individual choice as the driver of change. I will argue that, without a course correction, net-zero, and the decarbonisation agenda is in existential peril in western nations like the UK. This new strategy must overcome shibboleths surrounding public and community ownership, and introduce progressive universalist principles in the provision of energy, housing and transport - a new ‘low carbon social contract’. Implementing this strategy will require a radical departure from the macro-economic and fiscal consensus which has prevailed in the UK since the late 1970s. Meet the panel: Chair: Josh Ryan-Collins, Professor in Economics and Finance at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) Donal Brown, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) Discussant: Sofie Jenkinson, Founding Director at Round Our Way