This article is an opinion piece by Steve Davison. Steve is one of our organisers, who writes at Baffled by Science on issues related to Net Zero and the clean energy transition.

Many people are concerned about our changing climate. A sizeable proportion believe that there is a climate emergency. However, could the billions of dollars being spent globally on projects like Net Zero in the UK, be better spent on adapting to climate change?

The annual cost of net Zero is £30bn based on official OBR figures. So why aren’t we instead investing in climate adaptation which would be cheaper, at around £10bn per year, and more achievable?

The answer is not obvious unless you realise that Net Zero policy faces no serious scrutiny. The driving forces behind it, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and the National Energy System Operator (NESO) are both wedded to Net Zero at any cost. Essentially, there is a monopoly on not only the policy making but also the sourcing of expert opinion driving that policy making. Unless and until we break this monopoly there is no serious prospect for change.

My detailed article is here:

https://www.baffledbyscience.com/p/adapting-to-climate-change-wont-cost

and the video discussion here:

https://youtu.be/U_RovaE4SCQ?si=diAMx7LpeMPlCJB0

A request

If you are concerned about climate change, please let me know whether this article provides any novel insights. Please do comment online and share.

Many thanks.