Remember 1973

If you remember 1973, you’ll recall with a shudder the fashion of flares – the bigger and brighter the better – the fact that Dawn’s Tie a Yellow Ribbon was the biggest hit both sides of the Atlantic and that England failed to qualify for the World Cup.

No-one wants to return to those days and in particular the oil crisis that saw its price quadruple in a matter of months and strikes on the domestic front that severely restricted coal supplies and led to the lights going out across Britain.

Fifty years on there are fears that history may be repeating itself with regard to the volatility of gas and oil prices and that the Government may be rowing back on its green pledges.

However, a double whammy of positive news has boosted hopes of a brighter, sustainable future.

Firstly, the UK’s energy commissioner, Nick Winser, said he expects domestic gas and electricity bills for households to fall by one third by 2030 and to halve by 2050.

This is down to the rapid escalation of wind, solar and nuclear power. Coupled with the storage of hydrogen to generate power on days with low sun and little wind, this should ease reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets.

The second bit of good news is global and comes from the International Energy Authority – the global energy watchdog – which has predicted that by 2030 half of the world’s electricity will be provided by renewables.

The watchdog goes so far as to describe the shift to green energy as “unstoppable” highlighting in particular the move from petrol to electric vehicles and from gas boilers to heat pumps. In 2020 electric cars made up just 4% of new sales – now it’s up to 20%.

The IEA adds the caveat that though there is cause for optimism, the pace of change remains too slow and must speed up if the target of limiting temperature rises to 1.5C by 2100 is to be met. Currently it’s estimated the rise will be 2.4C, bringing with it the associated climate catastrophies.

Here in the UK Mr Winser has spelled out the importance of increasing the take up of heat pumps as a key measure to reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

Homes heated by pumps powered by wind, solar and nuclear electricity would mean the UK would no longer be at the mercy of global fossil fuel markets – and the sharp price volatility world events such as the war in Ukraine and the Middle East can result in.

There is still a way to go but hopefully the world can see a sustainable future with lower energy prices on the horizon – and the flares can stay locked away in the cupboard.