Scarcely noticed amid the spin and sleaze, the government has slipped out a report that may be transforming Britain decades after Moore and Mittal have passed from memory. The “Energy Review” published by the Prime Minister’s performance and innovation unit (PIU) on 14 February lays down a blueprint for the most fundamental change since the industrial revolution.
Perhaps it is not surprising that it got little attention. Energy policy traditionally languishes way down the political and public agendas – except during brief episodes such as the fuel-price protests. It is, admittedly, complex, unglamorous stuff. But it shapes the world all the same. Had the west in general, and the United States in particular, not become so dependent on oil from the Middle East, recent history would no doubt be very different. And energy policy is similarly driving global warming, probably an even greater long-term threat to the world than terrorism.
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