Goals for net-zero emissions will require major changes to infrastructure in the UK. As fossil-fuelled sectors of energy demand are replaced with low carbon and renewable sources, huge growth in some sectors is required with the potential for reductions in scale or even decommissioning in other sectors.
Governance approaches consider not just specific policies and regulations, but also encompass the rules of how policy and regulation are developed and managed. With the transformational speed and scale of infrastructural change that net-zero requires, it’s not clear that the current system of UK energy infrastructure governance can support the transition.
This project investigates how infrastructure governance in the UK may need to change for net-zero. The first stage reviews the existing literature on infrastructure governance and considers the existing shape of UK infrastructure governance. The second stage investigates three case studies where significant changes are expected. We plan to consider: ‘buildings as infrastructure’, ‘offshore wind’ and ‘networks’, investigating the current governance of these sectors and whether or not this is appropriate for a net-zero transformation. We plan for significant policy impact with our findings and will engage with UK policymakers throughout.
