ESTA Viewpoint

ESTA VIEWPOINT For further information on ESTA visit www.estaenergy.org.uk

A roller coaster year

Climate emergencies have been declared left right and centre, and by a swathe of organisations of all types. However, a common running theme, and one shared with the Prime Minister, is just how to achieve the target. No one can seem to agree on the target date. I have learned a lot about the differences between Net Zero in terms of carbon and Net Zero in relation to greenhouse gases.

ESTA has been driving forward its behaviour change programme which has now been rebranded as the Energy Conscious Organisation. Our aim has been to persuade the Government of the great potential that behaviour change. However, we haven’t succeeded yet in getting them to fully support the approach. We haven’t given up.

The much-postponed Brexit departure happened albeit with the minor issue of agreeing a new trade deal with the EU and the rest of the world. Linked to Brexit the December general election came and went meaning we started the new year and decade with a little more clarity on the economic and policy front.

The budget was very frustrating in terms of supporting energy efficiency measures. It is surely clear to all that energy efficiency should form a major part of the net zero strategy, but the bulk of the announcements in the budget, with major I have mentioned in previous columns the perils of writing on current activity which, by the time of publication, can seem very out of date. As I started writing about COP26 the event was postponed before I had completed the sentence!

So, one year at ESTA completed and, as I survey the past 12 months it seems more like five years of activity crammed into one.

A cast of thousands led by Greta Thunberg, Sir David Attenborough and supported by Extinction Rebellion appeared, all ramping up public expectations about the urgency of taking action to mitigate climate change. The CCC report was published with subsequent ramifications appearing in terms of how the Government was going to meet its targets. Three ESTA conferences have been held one causing huge concern when Extinction Rebellion threatened to shut down the rail network.

Two Prime Ministers served during the year. Theresa May appeared desperate to enact the net zero by 2050 into law as her legacy while Boris Johnson doesn’t appear to fully understand how to best achieve the target. In the course of the year I’ve met lots of interesting and dynamic ESTA members, talked to a lot of like-minded organisations about collaboration, and made a lot of new and interesting contacts in the sector. Mervyn Pilley is executive director of ESTA (Energy Services and Technology Association) Two Prime Ministers, Extinction Rebellion, Brexit, and now lockdown. Mervyn Pilley looks back at the highs and lows of his first year at the helm of ESTA

spends on EVs, CCS and tree planting are not of great direct assistance to ESTA’s members. Yes, there is an infrastructure plan to come along with a white paper and the postponement of COP26 gives the Government more time to get urgently needed policies in place. The danger of postponing events is that it can cover up a lack of real action to get ready for the original date. The message to Government is clear – time is very short.

And then to cap it all along came the Coronavirus. Clearly this is a major health emergency with public health having to be put first before all other considerations. That said, many are linking the effects of the pandemic to a positive effect on the climate and a debate is just starting as to whether one aspect of the crisis will be a refocusing of the human race on just what is needed to save the planet. When we come out of the tunnel and everyone can return to feeling safer, I hope that the debate continues apace with energy efficiency efforts returning to everyone’s agenda.

I have spent more than twenty years of my working life working from home, so the lockdown isn’t a totally new experience for me, but the current situation seems very different. Trade events have been cancelled, and suddenly, those projects that I have planned, launched and been working hard to get underway have become harder to move forward. Of greater and more immediate concern as I pen this column is how many businesses may struggle to survive the crisis. Cash is king for so many businesses and where there is so much disruption to supply chains the knock-on effect all the way down the line can be devastating.

There have been unprecedented business support measures from the Government but there are still gaps to be addressed, at least at the time I am writing this in early April.

In between the urgent day-to-day challenges ESTA planning is still needed. We are more than 30 years old and, as previously mentioned in so many columns, the need for energy efficiency globally is not going away. With a greater urgency coming at the end of the pandemic and hopefully a huge pent up demand for action to be satisfied our role is going to be needed more than ever. Here’s to the next twelve months! 