At this year’s Conservative Party Conference, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark announced that it is time for an upgrade in our infrastructure and the “cleanness" of our energy supply.

Clark cited the global leadership opportunities that combating climate change presents and confirmed the intention to "put clean energy at the heart of our industrial future”.  Clark’s speech suggests that meeting the climate change objectives go hand in hand with the delivery of low carbon technology. Clark indicates that clean energy will play a pivotal role in the Government’s much awaited Industrial Strategy.

Albeit some may say at this stage all rhetoric, these positive words are needed following the uncertainty in the energy industry due to the rearrangement of Government departments which resulted in the closure of the Department of Energy and Climate Change with its responsibilities combined into the new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.  Some within the industry feared that this was the Prime Minister’s way of de-prioritising climate change. Greg Clark is seeking to dispel this view, instead hinting that economic growth and industrialisation can be delivered alongside tackling climate change.

The Government wants to play a leading role in the climate change debate and for this reason and also due to the need to provide energy security, the Government wishes to prove that they are a world leader of low carbon technologies. Indeed, Greg Clark highlighted the Government’s support for offshore wind by singling out Siemens Chief Executive, Jurgen Maier from the audience at the Conservative Party Conference and praising the company’s investment and job creation in Hull and Humber.

In order to encourage investment the Government needs to clarify the future in the UK, post - Brexit, for the renewable and low carbon energy sector. The Government are keen to demonstrate that they are committed to delivering an affordable and clean energy supply. The delivery of low carbon and renewable energy infrastructure creates jobs, will assist in meeting the climate change objectives and will help provide a diversified energy supply, which will in turn increase the UK’s energy security. The Government needs to roll out an action plan with focused policies that drive investment into this infrastructure. We await the Industrial Strategy to see whether this lives up to the hype.