Drivers of energy policy asymmetry between supply and demand in the United Kingdom

The scale of energy service demands and the efficiency with which they are provided determine the size of energy systems. As most modern energy systems are powered predominantly by fossil fuels, the size of the system determines the scale of the decarbonisation challenge enshrined in net-zero targets. It is commonly acknowledged that energy demand reduction, and the consequent reduction in size of the energy system, represents the lowest-cost, lowest-risk option for lowering emissions. Energy demand reductions arise from increasing the efficiency of providing energy services and avoiding such services in the first place. In the United Kingdom, however, government support for such energy demand reduction has stalled in recent years, especially in the context of housing. Expanding and diversifying energy supply resources, technologies, and markets, on the other hand, receive strong political support, and increasingly so following Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine and associated energy security challenges. The nature of this increasing policy asymmetry between energy demand and supply in the United Kingdom vis-à-vis the EU27 between February and October 2022 is analysed using comparative secondary data in the context of the quasi-natural experimental conditions imposed by Russia’s invasion. Primary data, mainly derived from interviews, is used to identify the drivers of this policy asymmetry in the United Kingdom with a particular focus on ideology and institutions. The results indicate to that extreme free-market ideologies and institutions have been significant drivers of energy policy asymmetry during this period to the detriment of both the efficiency of the residential building stock and energy system decarbonisation.