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What Does The Election Result Mean for Renewable Energy

Those in charge of pressure relief valve purchases for their organisations may be wondering what impact the election result may have on the renewable energy industry.

Infamously dubbed the ‘climate election’, one of the stand-out moments for the campaign was when Boris Jonson was replaced by an ice sculpture at a Channel 4 debate on climate change.

Public demands for action on climate change were at an all-time high and all MPs who were elected to Parliament were from parties that had committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Still, the election was won by an individual who did not turn up for a climate change debate and the next half decade is crucial to climate change. Boris Johnson had promised to ‘lie in front of bulldozers’ over Heathrow expansion, but Theresa May’s Government backed it.

This all takes place against a reality that saw a third of renewable energy jobs lost in the UK between 2014 and 2017 and renewable energy investment dropping by half at the same time. The latest Conservative Party election manifesto pledged to drop household bills and made some commitment to renewable energy, but action is louder than words.

At the end of next year the UK is hosting the annual UN climate change conference (COP26) in Glasgow. It is an opportunity for the UK Government to make clear its role in leading the world’s work on climate change, but needs to lead by example.

It is unclear how or whether or not the Government will engage with this, but hopefully the angle it will take will be clearer by the end of next year.