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Great overview (as ever) Fraser and Michael. Do you see the external (Ukraine/energy/cost of living crisis) as causing delays to action on this, or is it stemming more from internal (net zero as the new Brexit) pressures? I guess it may be neither, and just slow pace of progress generally. Whatever the cause, not [climate] emergency thinking by the looks of it.

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Really good question Dave. We think that with all major changes there will always be slight challenges and interruptions to progress towards to net zero. If we look at the key numbers around the cost of batteries for mobility and storage (now at £50 per kilowatt hour) they are coming down as are those for solar panels (along with their effectiveness). The planned expansion of onshore (15GW to 30GW), offshore (11GW to 50GW), solar (14GW to 50GW) and nuclear (7GW to 16GW) say we have a clear route ahead. We also see a continued commitment to net zero aviation (£685mn just committed). So all positive and making progress.

On the corporate shifts we see from the Share Action website major challenges at the forthcoming AGMs on climate at Chubb, Credit Suisse, ExxonMobil, Citigroup, Royal Dutch Shell, Standard Chartered, and United Parcel Service. The pressure continues to force the adoption of active net zero policies but someway of them becoming B Corps and working with clear circular economy principles.

But we still see opportunities being lost e.g. not making all new builds adopt the highest net zero standards, not making full use of renewable micro generation at all public buildings (they have a lot of roof space to use), etc.

On the skills and labour market side, we see the very tight labour market being a major barrier to progress as we need to both ensure a greater flow of skilled staff, especially at craft and technician levels, to ensure we can develop, install, operate and maintain the energy technologies of tomorrow. Some of the labour market adjustment will come through upskilling and reskilling but we need to develop deeper skills sets than can be achieved through short programmes as offered by the Bootcamps e.g. the skills needed to design and specify domestic heating/energy solutions and how to link with network options.

On The Green Edge we will be following this in great detail and hope the forthcoming Green Jobs Delivery Group have the strength and depth to cut across the silos which occur within Government.

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