Lighthouse | ICE Viewpoint
The next Parliament’s infrastructure to-do list
It seems that the UK’s infrastructure to-do list grows ever larger. Progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, delivering net zero, adapting to climate change and addressing economic and regional disparity have slowed.
Policy uncertainty, spending constraints and weak productivity have all contributed.
BY ART WE MASTER WHAT WOULD MASTER US
With a General Election due in 2024, the next Parliament will be pivotal to reversing the trend.
Too many policy gaps and changes of direction have impeded delivery. Markets and the supply chain need clarity and stability to plan, invest and scale up capacity. International competition for investment, skills and resources has never been greater.
Countries like the United States have acted decisively to accelerate their green transitions.
The UK has been a leader on target setting, legislation and emissions cuts. But the next government must establish clear, stable and bold policies or the country risks being left behind in the next phase of the net zero transition.
The arrival of winter means energy security and the cost of heating homes and businesses will again become focus points. Improving the UK’s energy efficiency has been too slow.
Uncertainty about which technologies the government will back to deliver the low carbon energy transition also remains.
To move beyond short term fixes and keep the UK on the path to net zero, the next government must focus less on pilot projects and make big strategic choices about the future energy mix.
The uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) is happening faster than expected in the UK. Ensuring charging infrastructure keeps pace with demand will remain a challenge.
But the EV transition also means replacing the existing fuel duty and vehicle excise duty regime.
A road pricing model is one option. It would be politically difficult, but a new parliament could be a good time to address it.
Even with a successful EV transition the UK must reduce overall private vehicle use to achieve net zero.
But while Scotland and Wales have targets to reduce vehicle kilometres, England does not.
Ensuring people have access to affordable, reliable and safe public transport and active travel options is necessary to the encouragement of lower car use.
The transport conundrum highlights the absence of a public behaviour change strategy from the UK government’s overall approach to net zero.
Public awareness about how lifestyles must change is low. The cost of living crisis and breakdowns in many public services mean people have other more immediate priorities. They are unsure how changes will affect their wellbeing or whether new technologies will work.
Politicians need to address this uncertainty with a positive vision of net zero.
“Too many policy gaps and changes of direction have impeded deliveryDecarbonisation will provide tangible health, social and economic benefits to the public.
Government decision-making should therefore focus less on the costs of infrastructure and more on the wider benefits it enables.
People need help understanding what those benefits are, when they will be delivered, and what their role is in achieving them.
Politicians, civil servants and engineers all have a responsibility to make it easy for people to act.
A national dialogue that builds awareness, alongside joined up fiscal incentives, clear policies and effective regulation are all part of the solution.
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