The great subsidy game

Getting to net zero is necessary but it will not be cheap. Everyone is clamouring for government subsidies: steel, battery factories, offshore wind, farmers, and customers and SMEs hit by high energy prices, as well as new nuclear power, CCS offshore, and hydrogen. The great gas price crisis is already easing, but not the demand for state support. It’s a lobbyists’ dream. Both main political parties in the UK are in this “subsidy game”. The Labour Party also has Great British Energy and its fast-track “mission” to get to zero emissions in electricity by 2030, requiring a lot of fast-tracked extra subsidies. It’s not just the UK. The US has its Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Act and the Chips Act – state interventions not seen since Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. Europe is playing catch-up, looking to water down its competition policy limits on state aid. In this subsidy world, what should we do? Listen to this podcast to find out more.