Concerns are growing in the UK and other European countries about the social and economic implications of recent unprecedented increases in the level and volatility of energy prices. This raises questions about how governments and other economic actors might mitigate these negative impacts over the short- and long-term. Policy measures and interventions, including pressure to reduce green levies and taxes, need to be evaluated from the perspective of legally binding Net Zero objectives. On the other hand, growing calls for a ‘just transition’ require that the costs and disruptions of the Net Zero transition are allocated ‘fairly’ across economic and social groups. Our research project considers the implications of such transition for consumers with different social and economic positions, including levels of income and wealth. As significant policy and regulatory interventions are likely to be required to deal with longstanding economic and social issues in the energy sector, we also consider the potential changes in the roles of government and the regulator in implementing the energy transition.
The research was undertaken as part of the UK Energy Research Centre research programme. Funded by the UK Research and Innovation Energy programmes under grant number EP/SO29575/1.
RESEARCH OUTPUT
A Cause for Concern: Household Energy Price Resilience and Wellbeing | Centre for Competition Policy
A cause for concern: household energy price resilience and wellbeing (XII International Academic Symposium. Accelerating the Net-Zero Economy Transformation: New Challenges for Sustainability)
Andrew Burlinson's presentation A cause for concern: Household energy price resilience at the 2023 CCP Annual Conference
We’re on the Road to Net Zero? Socioeconomic Inequality in Low-Carbon Technology Adoption | UKERC | The UK Energy Research Centre
Monica Giulietti's presentation Socioeconomic inequality in low-carbon technology adoption at the 2024 CCP Annual Conference
The impact of the energy price crisis on GB consumers: a difference-in-difference experiment | Centre for Competition Policy
Andrew Burlinson's presentation Don’t switch, can’t switch: The impact of the energy price crisis on UK at the 2024 CCP Annual Conference
Integrated presentation of research projects
Energy Regulation and Navigating the Net Zero Transition (2024 CCP Annual Conference), by Michael Harker (Queen Mary University of London) and Paula Furtado Kohn (Sheffield Hallam University)
Distributional Effects of Gas Price Volatility and Potential Policy Mitigation - Webinar, 20 September 2024
