
Tom Leach
Senior Policy Advisor
Building new energy infrastructure will be critical for delivering net zero but plans are often blocked by public opposition. In an effort to bring local people on-side and speed up the major upgrades needed to the electricity grid, the Chancellor announced new funding in the Autumn statement for residents affected by new electricity infrastructure. People living ‘close’ to new infrastructure will receive up to £1,000 per year off their electricity bills as well as a wider community benefit fund allowing them to support local social projects.
But it’s not clear whether the Chancellor’s plan will work.
On the ground, the initial reaction to these ‘pounds for pylons’ payments hasn’t been resoundingly positive, with residents calling it a ‘bribe’.
This BBC article entitled: Essex pylon corridor compensation plan ‘insulting’, shows a glimpse of the potential conflict yet to come, with residents feeling like they haven’t been listened to and are being fobbed off. Are incentives like these asking people to put a price on their principles, or a pragmatic solution to build our critical national infrastructure?
We have seen this happen before in other infrastructure projects. Britain’s mission to find a local community to host a geological nuclear waste disposal site echoes many of the same challenges. Despite a lengthy engagement process and large sums of compensation offered, the economic incentive produced the opposite effect – local communities turned against the plan, signalling that the money felt like a deal for something that’s negative and unwanted.
Delivering net zero depends on substantial social and behavioural change
Although upgrading the electricity grid is just one small part of this huge public engagement challenge, we will need to bring the public with us on the whole net zero journey so we can avoid a situation where people feel change is being forced upon them. This is why the role and design of incentives is so important, and why we should always consider the behavioural implications.
For more information on how behavioural insights can be used to help us decarbonise, check out our flagship report: How to build a Net Zero society.
Senior Policy Advisor
Design and development by Soapbox.