How to pay for energy

How do we pay not just for the immediate costs of energy, but for the full transition to net zero? Right now the UK economy is around 80% dependent on fossil fuels, just as it was back in 1970 - and much the same as the rest of the world. We have 28 years to get this down to a residual, all of which needs to be sequestrated. We have the 2050 net zero target and the 2035 target for net zero for electricity - just 13 years away. This is a transition on a scale last seen in converting a peacetime economy into a wartime economy ready for the Second World War. We are all in this together as citizens and we have to find a way to pay for this that enables all citizens to participate fully in society and the economy. This means that we need a social tariff, to provide the basic social primary good of energy. It breaks the link between price and costs, and brings the better-off customers and the Treasury into this picture. None of the current short-term fixes is going to address the costly long haul to net zero. Sticky plasters like loans and Council Tax rebates assume that our current energy price crisis is temporary. It is not. Lots and lots of intermittent wind will increase costs, which we should pay – as citizens and not just consumers.