Comment on National Infrastructure Assessment

Commenting on the National Infrastructure Commission’s (NIC) National Infrastructure Assessment, Richard Black, director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said:

“The Commission’s focus on strategic preparation for climate impacts is eminently sensible – climate change presents systemic and increasing risks to all kinds of infrastructure, and we know that many types of facility including homes, hospitals and railways are not being built to the standards needed.

“The highlighting of water shortages in the southeast is especially noteworthy, because hot summers like the present one are forecast to become much more common in the years ahead.

“However, in the power sector its recommendations fall short. Generating half of our electricity from renewables by 2030 sounds impressive; but if ministers also halt the building programme for new nuclear power stations they will not hit their own target of 85% clean power generation.”