UK's Journey to Net Zero

  A background to Net Zero - why and how it arose, and what it means. Dr Alan Jones, PhD. CEng. FIET.   Introduction Net zero has now been around for just over 12-months and yet in this short time this new Government target – its latest response to climate change – is being articulated within an increasing number of arenas and by an ever growing list of actors in the fields of energy, finance, environment, housing, transport, generation, distribution, and so on. Campaign groups along with with Government signalling has raised awareness of this subject and net zero is now a term used freely and sometimes with gay abandon as the answer to why some action is required, indeed essential, that might otherwise not have been needed.   On the energy side, for example, net zero is helping focus National Grid Energy System Operator’s forward thinking, as it is Ofgem’s.  This in turn influences the UK Transmission and Distribution companies plans over the next 30 years and beyond.  And renewable e