Ed Matthew
@edmatthew.bsky.social
UK Programme Director for independent climate change think tank E3G
Great thread from @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org ripping to pieces the shameless disinformation on the cost of net zero from oil and gas funded Tufton Street and covered without due scrutiny by the right wing media. It assumes funding and running a fossil fuel system is free - 100% bollocks
The utterly shameless & widely covered "report" out today, claiming net zero will "cost" £9tn is based on:
* Assuming free fossil-fuel energy, free petrol cars, free gas boilers, free gas power plants etc
AND
* Including climate damages in the "cost" of net zero
I kid you not, it is that stupid
* Assuming free fossil-fuel energy, free petrol cars, free gas boilers, free gas power plants etc
AND
* Including climate damages in the "cost" of net zero
I kid you not, it is that stupid
🧵A political/media guide to the "truth" about net-zero
1) Add up costs to install & run a net-zero energy system
2) Pretend fossil-fuelled alternatives wld be free
3) Do say "eco zealots are bankrupting us"
4) Don't say "free cars if we scrap net-zero" cos it sounds ridiculous
5) That's it!
1/10
1) Add up costs to install & run a net-zero energy system
2) Pretend fossil-fuelled alternatives wld be free
3) Do say "eco zealots are bankrupting us"
4) Don't say "free cars if we scrap net-zero" cos it sounds ridiculous
5) That's it!
1/10
January 13, 2026 at 11:19 AM
Great thread from @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org ripping to pieces the shameless disinformation on the cost of net zero from oil and gas funded Tufton Street and covered without due scrutiny by the right wing media. It assumes funding and running a fossil fuel system is free - 100% bollocks
Drivers of EVs can save on average over £1000 a year on fuel costs. Badenoch is not on the side of drivers. She is on the side of the fossil fuel companies. A faster transition to EVs will also help to keep our car manufacturers competitive
Kemi Badenoch: Tories to scrap petrol ban if they win next election
The Conservative Party leader says the policy is "destructive" and "economic self-harm".
www.bbc.com
December 14, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Drivers of EVs can save on average over £1000 a year on fuel costs. Badenoch is not on the side of drivers. She is on the side of the fossil fuel companies. A faster transition to EVs will also help to keep our car manufacturers competitive
ECO was failing but needed reform, not axing. The impact will be a cut of £5 billion to insulate fuel poor homes and loss of 10,000 jobs. Reeves cut winter fuel payments then u-turned; she then cut disability benefits then u-turned. Now she is slashing funding for the fuel poor. A Labour Chancellor
Cuts to insulation scheme will leave homes cold over winter, experts say
E3G thinktank warns retrofit sector could shed 10,000 skilled jobs as small firms struggle to survive
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 2:48 PM
ECO was failing but needed reform, not axing. The impact will be a cut of £5 billion to insulate fuel poor homes and loss of 10,000 jobs. Reeves cut winter fuel payments then u-turned; she then cut disability benefits then u-turned. Now she is slashing funding for the fuel poor. A Labour Chancellor
I’m quoted in this article criticising Chancellor for axing ECO, the U.K. insulation scheme. The most recent version failed due to terrible design by former government, but it needed reform, not scrapping. The decision is a £5 billion cut to insulate homes of fuel poor and will cost 10,000 jobs
IFS responds to £150 cut to energy bills pledged in Rachel Reeves’ Budget
Some climate campaigners have criticised the move by Rachel Reeves to cut green levies
www.independent.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 9:28 AM
I’m quoted in this article criticising Chancellor for axing ECO, the U.K. insulation scheme. The most recent version failed due to terrible design by former government, but it needed reform, not scrapping. The decision is a £5 billion cut to insulate homes of fuel poor and will cost 10,000 jobs
The real story here is Reeves trying to gut the warm homes plan. If she gets her way at Budget and the ECO green levy is axed, then green homes funding for insulation and electrification will be cut from £21bn to £13bn over 5 years - a 40% cut which will lead to more gas dependency and higher bills
Hundreds of thousands to lose heat pump subsidies in Reeves’s budget plan
Exclusive: Supporters say grants largely going to middle-class households, but experts warn move will slow transition from gas boilers
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:15 PM
The real story here is Reeves trying to gut the warm homes plan. If she gets her way at Budget and the ECO green levy is axed, then green homes funding for insulation and electrification will be cut from £21bn to £13bn over 5 years - a 40% cut which will lead to more gas dependency and higher bills
What a great project to make the use of veteran skills - helping to accelerate the clean tech revolution. Extra poignant given clean energy is super essential to energy security and indeed national security
The new schemes supporting military veterans to join the clean energy industry
At least one in six veterans is already armed with many of the skills needed for the clean energy sector.
buff.ly/Srv8Reu.
At least one in six veterans is already armed with many of the skills needed for the clean energy sector.
buff.ly/Srv8Reu.
The schemes supporting military veterans to join the clean energy industry
MILITARY veterans are being encouraged to join the clean energy industry, with a series of new schemes to support them. The number of green vacancies is growing twice as fast as the supply of skill…
buff.ly
November 8, 2025 at 4:07 PM
What a great project to make the use of veteran skills - helping to accelerate the clean tech revolution. Extra poignant given clean energy is super essential to energy security and indeed national security
Guardian cover letter we helped coordinate to call on the Chancellor not to cut or axe the Energy Company Obligation at Budget. 67 civil society groups and major businesses say it would threaten fuel poverty and climate targets to remove UKs leading insulation programme. Thanks to all that signed
Cutting home insulation funding will imperil UK’s climate goals, Reeves told
Energy firms and charities urge chancellor to avoid short-term fix that could also harm low-income households
www.theguardian.com
November 8, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Guardian cover letter we helped coordinate to call on the Chancellor not to cut or axe the Energy Company Obligation at Budget. 67 civil society groups and major businesses say it would threaten fuel poverty and climate targets to remove UKs leading insulation programme. Thanks to all that signed
The Treasury is at serious risk of killing off the transition to electric vehicles by bringing in a new pay per mile tax at Budget. Given the market is only just going mainstream, this move could torpedo progress. It’s bad timing which won’t help the U.K. EV industry or climate action
November 6, 2025 at 8:42 AM
The Treasury is at serious risk of killing off the transition to electric vehicles by bringing in a new pay per mile tax at Budget. Given the market is only just going mainstream, this move could torpedo progress. It’s bad timing which won’t help the U.K. EV industry or climate action
The Treasury is actively contemplating axing the UKs main insulation programme (ECO) to cut energy bills. Given how critical insulation is to ending fuel poverty and reducing energy bills, it would be completely self defeating and destroy the insulation industry as well. Mobilise. Now.
Reeves considers cut to green levies in effort to reduce cost of energy bills
Exclusive: Chancellor hopes to save up to £170 from average bill but industry insiders say move would be ‘disastrous’
www.theguardian.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:13 PM
The Treasury is actively contemplating axing the UKs main insulation programme (ECO) to cut energy bills. Given how critical insulation is to ending fuel poverty and reducing energy bills, it would be completely self defeating and destroy the insulation industry as well. Mobilise. Now.
This catastrophic, record breaking hurricane was made 5 times more likely by climate change. The politicians and media figures arguing for slowing down the transition to carbon free energy are fuelling this destruction
First deaths from Hurricane Melissa confirmed in Jamaica and Haiti
The hurricane - Jamaica's worst to date - was downgraded from a category five storm on Wednesday.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 30, 2025 at 12:19 PM
This catastrophic, record breaking hurricane was made 5 times more likely by climate change. The politicians and media figures arguing for slowing down the transition to carbon free energy are fuelling this destruction
This is powerful research showing that the UK has saved over £100 Billion on our energy bills due to the roll out of wind power. That is the saving after accounting for green subsidies. This shreds false claims by Reform that renewables drives up energy bills. They are lying. The reverse is true
Wind power has cut £104bn from UK energy costs since 2010, study finds
Reduction comes from energy generated from windfarms and lower cost of gas owing to lower demand
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:27 PM
This is powerful research showing that the UK has saved over £100 Billion on our energy bills due to the roll out of wind power. That is the saving after accounting for green subsidies. This shreds false claims by Reform that renewables drives up energy bills. They are lying. The reverse is true
Data from the real world shows that hybrid cars are little better than regular petrol and diesel cars when it comes to the fuel they consume, the CO2 they produce and the money they cost to run. The lesson here is that the industry (and consumers) should leap straight to full electric cars
Plug-in hybrids pollute almost as much as petrol cars, report finds
Analysis of 800,000 European cars found real-world pollution from plug-in hybrids nearly five times greater than lab tests
www.theguardian.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Data from the real world shows that hybrid cars are little better than regular petrol and diesel cars when it comes to the fuel they consume, the CO2 they produce and the money they cost to run. The lesson here is that the industry (and consumers) should leap straight to full electric cars
Reposted by Ed Matthew
Every day is a good day to point out that 92% of Reform's donations were found to come from figures and groups linked to the fossil fuel industry. @desmog.com
Nigel Farage’s Reform Party Has Accepted £2.3 Million from Fossil Fuel Interests, Climate Deniers, and Polluters Since 2019 Election
Reform UK has received more than £2.3 million from oil and gas interests, highly polluting industries, and climate science deniers since December 2019, amounting to 92 percent of the party’s donations...
www.desmog.com
October 12, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Every day is a good day to point out that 92% of Reform's donations were found to come from figures and groups linked to the fossil fuel industry. @desmog.com
Reposted by Ed Matthew
China ≠ just coal plants and solar exports. The deeper shift: electrifying everything it can. Strategic, because China relies on imported fossil fuels. Coal is still king in the power mix—for now. But the balance is changing year by year.
October 10, 2025 at 6:08 AM
China ≠ just coal plants and solar exports. The deeper shift: electrifying everything it can. Strategic, because China relies on imported fossil fuels. Coal is still king in the power mix—for now. But the balance is changing year by year.
This blog is my take on the Tory Party vow this week to axe the Climate Change Act. This is not leadership. It is surrender to the commercial interests of fossil fuel barons at the cost of us all.
Pledge to axe UK Climate Change Act backfires
The attempts to turn the British public against climate action does not only make no scientific or economic sense, it makes no political sense.
www.e3g.org
October 8, 2025 at 6:40 PM
This blog is my take on the Tory Party vow this week to axe the Climate Change Act. This is not leadership. It is surrender to the commercial interests of fossil fuel barons at the cost of us all.
My take on the decision by Kemi Badenoch to end the fight against the climate crisis and torpedo the U.K. economy and a great critique by @fionaharvey.bsky.social of the falsehoods set out in the Tory press release. This action by Badenoch is utterly shameful.
As Tories vow to scrap ‘failed targets’, how do their climate claims stack up?
We fact check Kemi Badenoch and her party after she promised to repeal Climate Change Act if they win power
www.theguardian.com
October 3, 2025 at 1:18 PM
My take on the decision by Kemi Badenoch to end the fight against the climate crisis and torpedo the U.K. economy and a great critique by @fionaharvey.bsky.social of the falsehoods set out in the Tory press release. This action by Badenoch is utterly shameful.
Kemi Badenoch has now aligned the Tory party on climate with Trump and the far right parties of Europe. Tragic. It shows that she is more interested in the profits of oil and gas companies than the security of the country. The Tory party can no longer be trusted on the environment or the economy
Kemi Badenoch vows to repeal Climate Change Act
Tory leader says she would replace it with ‘cheap energy’ strategy, ending decades-long consensus on climate
www.theguardian.com
October 2, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Kemi Badenoch has now aligned the Tory party on climate with Trump and the far right parties of Europe. Tragic. It shows that she is more interested in the profits of oil and gas companies than the security of the country. The Tory party can no longer be trusted on the environment or the economy
Reposted by Ed Matthew
There’s a persistent myth that new solar farms don’t really help tackle climate change because panels are “made with coal” and “never pay back” their carbon debt.
This is simply false.
- UN: solar ~8x cleaner than gas, ~19x than coal per kWh
- panels repay CO2 in 4 months; save 57x over life
This is simply false.
- UN: solar ~8x cleaner than gas, ~19x than coal per kWh
- panels repay CO2 in 4 months; save 57x over life
August 30, 2025 at 8:46 AM
There’s a persistent myth that new solar farms don’t really help tackle climate change because panels are “made with coal” and “never pay back” their carbon debt.
This is simply false.
- UN: solar ~8x cleaner than gas, ~19x than coal per kWh
- panels repay CO2 in 4 months; save 57x over life
This is simply false.
- UN: solar ~8x cleaner than gas, ~19x than coal per kWh
- panels repay CO2 in 4 months; save 57x over life
And here is the graphic showing the potential for heat pumps to cost half as much to run as a gas boiler WITH policy reforms - full report is here : www.e3g.org/publications...
August 28, 2025 at 11:15 AM
And here is the graphic showing the potential for heat pumps to cost half as much to run as a gas boiler WITH policy reforms - full report is here : www.e3g.org/publications...
www.theguardian.com/environment/... - our latest E3G report showing that with policy reform, running a heat pump could be half the price of running a gas boiler. The future is electric !
Heat pumps could halve heating bills with energy system reform, study finds
Steps to make electricity cheaper, such as ending levies, could transform prospects for pumps, thinktank shows
www.theguardian.com
August 28, 2025 at 9:43 AM
www.theguardian.com/environment/... - our latest E3G report showing that with policy reform, running a heat pump could be half the price of running a gas boiler. The future is electric !
Reposted by Ed Matthew
Ofgem just approved a record £24bn investment in gas & electric grids to 2031, making bills "£30 lower" than they would have been
Predictably, some usual-suspect media have mangled the reporting.
So here's a Really Simple guide to counterfactuals, with Bluey refs:
Predictably, some usual-suspect media have mangled the reporting.
So here's a Really Simple guide to counterfactuals, with Bluey refs:
July 1, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Ofgem just approved a record £24bn investment in gas & electric grids to 2031, making bills "£30 lower" than they would have been
Predictably, some usual-suspect media have mangled the reporting.
So here's a Really Simple guide to counterfactuals, with Bluey refs:
Predictably, some usual-suspect media have mangled the reporting.
So here's a Really Simple guide to counterfactuals, with Bluey refs:
The Tony Blair Institute should issue a public apology for putting out a climate ‘solutions’ report that has been so easily weaponised by those seeking to delay climate action. This was a gross misjudgement and it should have been properly vetted before publication - what a mess
Climate experts and politicians round on Tony Blair for ‘wrong message’
Former Labour PM accused of ‘handing talking points’ to Tories and Reform after saying net zero strategy faltering
www.theguardian.com
April 30, 2025 at 1:29 PM
The Tony Blair Institute should issue a public apology for putting out a climate ‘solutions’ report that has been so easily weaponised by those seeking to delay climate action. This was a gross misjudgement and it should have been properly vetted before publication - what a mess
This is one of the worst reports I’ve seen to date on the energy transition. It is divisive and inaccurate. In the U.K. people have not lost faith in climate action. The issue is just being weaponised by Farage and Badenoch because it is part of their culture war strategy to gain power #climate
Tony Blair says current net zero push 'doomed to fail'
The former PM's call for a change of course is rejected by Downing Street but welcomed by the Tories and Reform.
www.bbc.com
April 29, 2025 at 7:10 PM
This is one of the worst reports I’ve seen to date on the energy transition. It is divisive and inaccurate. In the U.K. people have not lost faith in climate action. The issue is just being weaponised by Farage and Badenoch because it is part of their culture war strategy to gain power #climate
See below my article in Environmental Politics on ‘reasons to be cheerful’ despite the massive challenges we face on climate action. When you get past the politics, there are economic meta trends that make the shift to clean energy unstoppable. Happy reading
New guest post from @edmatthew.bsky.social: Reasons to be Cheerful pt 2.
"No matter the... spin from politicians or media moguls tied to the fossil fuel lobby, one thing is clear: the transition to net zero is not just necessary – it’s unstoppable"
environmentalpoliticsjournal.net/events/reaso...
"No matter the... spin from politicians or media moguls tied to the fossil fuel lobby, one thing is clear: the transition to net zero is not just necessary – it’s unstoppable"
environmentalpoliticsjournal.net/events/reaso...
April 25, 2025 at 10:56 AM
See below my article in Environmental Politics on ‘reasons to be cheerful’ despite the massive challenges we face on climate action. When you get past the politics, there are economic meta trends that make the shift to clean energy unstoppable. Happy reading