How the Climate Change Act and the Climate Change Committee Destroyed the UK Energy System

Why Carbon Budgets Are Breaking Britain – and Only AC Generation Can Fix It

Introduction: From World Leader to Energy Basket Case

Once a global pioneer in electricity and grid stability, Britain is now in crisis. Blackouts loom, energy prices have skyrocketed, and vital grid infrastructure is being ripped apart in the name of Net Zero. Behind this transformation lies a single piece of legislation: the 2008 Climate Change Act. And behind that law stands a single body – unelected, unaccountable, and increasingly powerful – the Climate Change Committee (CCC).

What was sold to the public as a “green transition” has become a national economic and engineering disaster. Britain’s entire energy system is being dictated not by practical need, but by ideological carbon budgets set arbitrarily by the CCC. This blog sets out the case for how the Climate Change Act is destroying Britain’s electricity grid – and why reliable AC generation is the only way to rebuild what we’ve lost.

The Rise of the Climate Change Committee

The Climate Change Act 2008 was the world’s first legally binding climate law. Drafted by environmental activists with little regard for engineering feasibility, it imposed a duty on government to meet strict “carbon budgets” every five years. These budgets are proposed and monitored by the CCC – a committee of economists, civil servants, and climate policy specialists.

What began as an “independent advisory body” has grown into an unelected super-legislature. The CCC’s recommendations are now treated as de facto law. Ministers comply without question, civil servants embed CCC goals in every policy, and regulators like Ofgem and National Grid operate under their shadow. The result is a bureaucratic dictatorship of climate targets.

Why is this dangerous?

Because carbon targets are being prioritised above all else – including energy security, grid stability, economic growth, food security, and public consent. And those targets are based on modelled emissions rather than real-world capabilities.

Carbon Budgets: A Dangerous Obsession

The CCC’s core power lies in its ability to set legally binding carbon budgets – absolute limits on UK emissions over five-year periods. These budgets override market forces, regional priorities, and even energy reliability. Everything from planning decisions to subsidy schemes is twisted to meet the CCC’s carbon pathway.

What this means in practice:

No new gas power stations, despite growing demand for reliable generation

Artificial suppression of domestic oil and gas production, despite ongoing imports

Mass rollout of wind and solar, even in areas without grid capacity

Curtailment payments – billions paid to renewable generators to not produce power

Widespread grid delays, as the existing system buckles under inconsistent inputs

Farmland sacrificed for giant solar and battery projects with little strategic value

Skyrocketing standing charges, as customers fund the infrastructure chaos

None of these outcomes were put to a vote. They’re not the result of public demand or market logic. They are the product of one committee’s interpretation of a carbon target – enforced through a vast legal and regulatory maze.

The Destruction of Britain’s AC Grid

Britain’s national grid was one of the greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century. Built around alternating current (AC) generation, it relied on large, dispatchable plants – coal, gas, nuclear – delivering stable power where and when needed. Frequency was kept at 50Hz through synchronised rotation across the system. It was reliable, cheap, and resilient.

But the CCC’s Net Zero vision doesn’t fit that model. Instead, it relies on wind and solar – inherently intermittent, non-synchronous, and heavily decentralised. These require a totally different infrastructure, based on:

Direct current (DC) flows, not traditional AC

Inverters and converters to stabilise erratic outputs

Miles of new high-voltage transmission lines

Massive battery storage, with limited duration and high fire risk

Synchronous compensators, just to mimic the stability that AC once provided naturally

This transformation isn’t just costly – it’s reckless. Britain is abandoning a proven grid system in favour of an unstable, experimental, and fundamentally unreliable alternative.

The CCC’s role?

The CCC does not factor in system-level engineering risks. Its job is to meet carbon goals, not to keep the lights on. The cost of grid instability – from backup costs, to frequency failures, to stranded assets – is not considered in their carbon accounting. The result? A grid that may be Net Zero on paper, but zero power in practice.

The Human Cost: Bills, Blackouts, and Bureaucracy

The public is now paying the price.

Electricity bills are among the highest in Europe, driven by levies, subsidies, and transmission charges

Standing charges have increased by over 500% in some areas, as infrastructure costs soar

Flexible energy markets have become dangerously volatile, with daily prices swinging wildly

Planning decisions are being overruled to force through solar, wind, and BESS projects

Food security is at risk, as productive farmland is lost to renewables with no storage longevity


In short, we are destroying our economic base to chase a global climate target that Britain alone cannot affect.

Only AC Generation Can Restore the System

To fix this crisis, Britain must return to an engineering-first energy policy. That means prioritising stable, synchronous, dispatchable AC power – not to the exclusion of renewables, but in recognition of what actually works.

The foundation of a reliable system must include:

✅ Nuclear Power

Proven, zero-carbon AC generation

SMRs (Small Modular Reactors) can be built domestically by Rolls-Royce

Capable of baseload delivery with minimal land footprint


✅ Gas Power

Fast, flexible, dispatchable generation

Essential for grid balancing

Britain has abundant domestic reserves


✅ Hydropower and Tidal

Predictable, renewable AC sources

Underexploited in the UK due to planning hurdles


✅ Rooftop Solar (AC-compatible)

Localised generation that doesn’t overload grid

Companies like Power Roll are pioneering ultra-light solar film for urban use

Avoids countryside sprawl and doesn’t require new transmission lines

We do not need to cover our countryside in batteries and solar panels. We need to restore balance, stabilise the grid, and build to serve the people, not an ideology.

The CCC Must Be Dismantled

The CCC has outlived its mandate. It was never intended to run the country – but today, it holds more power than many government departments.

It:

Dictates five-year carbon budgets that become unchallengeable law

Overrides Parliament by embedding targets in every department

Drives grid destruction through Net Zero pathways

Forces wasteful planning decisions, subsidies, and regulatory barriers

Has no direct accountability to voters or industry

No other country has handed such authority to a single committee. And no democracy should tolerate it.

What must be done:

1. Repeal or reform the Climate Change Act

Remove the legal force behind CCC carbon budgets



2. Abolish or radically scale back the CCC

Return to advisory-only status



3. Restore departmental sovereignty

Let DESNZ, Ofgem, and National Grid set practical plans based on real-world energy needs



4. Introduce a moratorium on new large-scale renewables

Until grid constraints, cost-benefit analysis, and engineering viability are proven



5. Rebuild AC generation first

Start with SMRs, gas, and rooftop solar before any further wind or solar rollout

Conclusion: It’s Time to Take Back Control

Britain’s energy system is no longer being run for its people. It is being restructured by legalistic ideology, modelled targets, and centralised carbon budgets. The grid is collapsing, the bills are rising, and the countryside is vanishing – all to serve an agenda nobody voted for, and few understand.

The Climate Change Committee must be held to account. The Climate Change Act must be revisited. And the UK must reclaim its legacy of engineering excellence by rebuilding the AC grid, with British-made power sources, affordable pricing, and real energy sovereignty.

The path to stability is clear – but we must first have the courage to admit that Net Zero, as imposed by the CCC, has failed.