Sunak’s oil subsidy in the UK could isolate 2 million homes, says think tank
Damian Carrington
Billions of pounds spent on tax breaks for oil and gas production in the UK could permanently reduce energy bills for 2 million homes by £ 342 a year if invested in isolation measures, according to the Green Brain Trust.
Rishi Sunak announced a 91% tax cut, along with an unforeseen tax on the huge profits of oil and gas companies last week. The E3G think tank estimates that tax breaks will return between £ 2.5 billion and £ 5.7 billion to oil companies in three years, while a £ 3 billion energy efficiency program over the same period will improve 2.1 million homes. which makes them less dependent on gas.
Rising international gas prices are expected to more than double energy bills in one year by October, pushing a third of households into fuel poverty. Proponents of energy efficiency, including insulation of attics and walls, say it is a relentless investment that reduces bills forever, reduces carbon emissions, leading to the climate crisis and boosts jobs. The Green Groups said the Chancellor’s subsidies to households, partly funded by the contingency tax, were just “sticky plaster”.
Another report released Tuesday by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) found that the £ 4bn annual investment in energy efficiency could permanently halve household heating bills by 2035. Its author said Sunak distributes “raincoats”, but “fails to repair the roof”.
The tax cuts meet the official definitions of a fossil fuel subsidy, which the UK and other countries have promised to phase out. It has boosted new oil and gas production, despite a recent Guardian investigation that found that the fossil fuel industry is already planning projects that would destroy the world’s chances of maintaining a habitable climate.
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The aviation sector is reluctant to “prepare” for the thousands of people who arrive due to increased costs, said the CEO of the Airline Management Group.
Asked what the industry could do to meet demand, Peter Davis told LBC:
Well, they need to prepare as quickly as possible in terms of staff, especially at security airports.
However, he said they are reluctant to increase staff.
When thousands of people arrive in Heathrow at seven in the morning and this has been happening for years, where many people arrive by night flights, then you need to be prepared to make sure you can handle these people.
But, of course, it costs money and space, and people are often reluctant to do so.
Arts Secretary Stephen Parkinson said “the industry had to recruit people ready” for the increased demand for travel.
Asked if the government could do more to help the aviation sector during the pandemic, Lord Parkinson told Sky News that the government had helped but blamed the tourism sector directly, not recruiting enough people ready to do so. busy season, now the restrictions have been removed.
He said:
We are helping people across the economy with job support, but, of course, the pandemic has affected many sectors in many different ways.
There was a time when people just couldn’t travel for obvious reasons, but there were many months when we got back on track, especially after vaccination so far, and the industry had to recruit people ready.
The companies had to have people on site and we work with colleagues in the transport department to make sure they can get people in as quickly as possible.
He added: “We need clear communication from companies with people who travel, and colleagues from the Ministry of Transport work with industry to make sure they attract people as quickly as possible.”
The government is “not prepared” for increased travel
Nicholas Slawson
Finance Ministry shadow finance secretary James Murray said the government was “unprepared” for rising travel demand.
The Labor MP told Sky News that Labor had warned that there would be problems after the tourism sector cut staff during the pandemic and is now struggling to cope with increased demand.
He said:
We have been warning for months during the Covid pandemic that you can’t just let the airline and airports fall, leave all your staff behind, and then expect to get back on track when the search returns after the pandemic. .
We warned about it, the unions warned about it, employee officials said during the Covid pandemic, “You need a sector-specific package to support the aviation sector,” and now we see what happened because the government didn’t prepare for what will obviously follow.
He added: “The government is not working with airlines to implement this sector-specific package during the pandemic.
Murray says the government has “not gotten stronger” and now people are seeing the impact as people’s holidays are affected.
He said:
It was quite obvious what was happening during the pandemic, because people did not travel, did not fly throughout the pandemic, but then, after the pandemic began to withdraw, air travel would begin again and the government simply did not do what was necessary. during the pandemic to prepare for what is happening now, and we are now seeing the impact of that.
He added that there was further chaos due to the problems people face when trying to apply for passports or renew their passports, which, according to Murray, is also something that should have been foreseen and planned.
He said:
The other aspect of that, too, and let’s not forget, is the whole chaos of passports and the fact that it was also predictable … It’s something where there’s a little common sense, a little planning … if the government was focused on that what lies ahead, they could prepare for it.
Welcome to today’s live blog. I will update you throughout the day. Email me at nicola.slawson@theguardian.com or tweet me @Nicola_Slawson if you think I’m missing something or if you have a question.
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