It has been a big week in the work we have been doing to support the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security. On Wednesday, at the Royal Society, the Taskforce launched their second report - ‘The Oil Crunch – a wake-up call for the UK economy’.
The day kicked off with the first interview on Radio 5 Live’s Wake Up to Money at 5.45am, with John Miles at Arup. After that the rollercoaster ride, which was the rest of the day, was in motion with a series of broadcast and print interviews before the launch event at 9am. We faced a small glitch as the the ISDN line we were planning to use for the interview with Radio 4 Today couldn’t be used. Nonetheless, following a dash to the Millbank studios the interview went well and the event began on time.
The Taskforce’s report looks at the issue of peak oil and predicts that within the next five years or so we will reach a point where extraction rates cannot keep pace with demand, especially from the emerging markets. The knock-on effects of this will mean higher prices across transport, food, consumer goods and heating. To address the threat of peak oil – which has the potential to be as damaging as the credit crunch – the Taskforce calls for government action as well as changes in business and consumer behaviour to help wean the UK economy off cheap oil.
Bringing together British business leaders including Richard Branson of Virgin, Brian Souter of Stagecoach, Philip Dilley of Arup, Jeremy Leggett of Solarcentury, Ian Marchant of Scottish & Southern Energy and Will Whitehorn of Virgin Galactic. It is the first time that industry has spoken with a united voice on this issue.
Such was the impact of the report and the interest in it, DECC made an eleventh-hour request to speak at the event to outline what the Government was intending to do to address the issue.
The objective of the Taskforce is to spark debate on this vital issue and to get Government and business to act now whilst we still have time to prepare for the oil crunch.
If the national and international media interest alone – Wall Street Journal Europe, Financial Times, Independent, The Daily Telegraph, BBC, The Guardian, ITN, CNN, Forbes, The Scotsman, The Oil Drum – is anything to go by, the debate is certainly raging. The challenge is now for others to act, and act fast.
Photo: Thomas Graham/Arup