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A generational perspective on infrastructure
Millennials spend all their money on Netflix, Ubers and takeaway coffees. We’re card-carrying members of the snowflake generation. We stay living with our parents for longer, join the workforce later and languish in seemingly eternal adolescence. We’re glued to our phones – more concerned with our curated and self-indulgent online worlds than the reality of...
Government must go further to entice drivers to go electric
The government has announced that it is doubling funding for on-street electric vehicle charging to support over 1,000 new charge points across the country. An additional £2.5 million will help local authorities install charging infrastructure, which can be built into existing structures like lamp-posts. The scheme is intended to help people who don’t have off-street...
Climate-proofing the UK’s infrastructure must be a priority (article)
Our Chair Sir John Armitt has today written an article in Business Green highlighting the importance of future-proofing the UK’s infrastructure against the impacts of climate change, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 9 on building resilient infrastructure. His text is reproduced below. “Throughout history, human beings have used infrastructure to master our...
Prime Minister sets out vision for Northern rail connectivity
The Prime Minister has today set out plans for a new high speed rail connection between Leeds and Manchester as part of a wider programme to revitalise transport and improve connectivity in the North of England. In a wide-ranging speech in Manchester this morning, the Prime Minister committed to funding a high-speed rail connection between...
How do we make better decisions on future infrastructure delivery?
The National Infrastructure Assessment – the UK’s first – set out a clear long-term plan for the UK’s economic infrastructure needs up to 2050. All of its recommendations are affordable within a ceiling of public investment in infrastructure of 1.2% of GDP a year, with a similar amount funded by consumers and bill payers. It...
Robust evidence of value of infrastructure procurement models essential to effective future investment
The procurement of infrastructure projects risks being constrained by lack of evidence on long-term investment outcomes and could have strategic implications for the UK’s ability to meet growing demand for infrastructure services and its Net Zero emissions targets. The lack of a strong evidence base on infrastructure procurements has led to the focus on a...
Civil engineering leaders endorse Commission’s plan for UK’s long-term infrastructure
A new policy paper from the professional body for civil engineers calls on the government to accept in full the recommendations made in the National Infrastructure Assessment, ahead of the appointment of a new Prime Minister and the expected publication of a National Infrastructure Strategy later this year. In response, National Infrastructure Commission Chair Sir...
Phil Graham: Speech to the Future of Infrastructure Conference
Commission Chief Executive Phil Graham gave the keynote speech at the Future of Infrastructure 2019 conference in London, reviewing the main recommendations of the National Infrastructure Assessment just over a year after its publication, the long-term challenge of achieving the UK’s Net Zero target and the importance of transforming the country’s infrastructure. The full text...
MPs highlight need for swift action to boost energy efficiency of UK homes and workplaces
A new report today from MPs calls for urgent action to address poor energy efficiency in UK homes in order to avoid undermining the UK’s efforts to meet Net Zero carbon emissions, reflecting recommendations made in the National Infrastructure Assessment. The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee’s report Energy Efficiency: building towards Net...
NIC marks one year on from the UK’s first National Infrastructure Assessment
The National Infrastructure Commission today marks one year since the publication of Britain’s first-ever National Infrastructure Assessment. Published on 10 July 2018, the report sets out how we should develop our energy, transport, water and technology networks over the next thirty years. It recommends major changes, including: setting ambitious targets for renewable energy a truly...
New charging infrastructure essential to build on investment in UK electric vehicle technology
News of a boost for electric vehicle manufacturing and positive sales are a vote of confidence in an electric future for UK road transport, but must be matched by investment in charging infrastructure to help drivers make the switch from petrol and diesel cars and vans to electric, reduce air pollution and support efforts to...
Ensuring resilience in a highly renewable energy mix
Back in July last year we launched the National Infrastructure Assessment, the first of its kind in this country and of its scope anywhere in the world. It identifies clear priorities for the UK’s economic infrastructure over the coming years and decades, based on a thirty-year forward look at the changing shape of our economy...
Study highlights opportunities for interconnection and diverse renewables mix to build resilience of UK energy network to weather challenges
A new review of research on future weather patterns highlights the importance of a rollout of diverse renewable generation technologies to ensure the resilience of the UK’s energy systems to stresses brought about by a changing energy mix and climate change. Publishing a new report commissioned from the Met Office, the National Infrastructure Commission said...
Dealing with waste is essential for a low carbon future (letter)
National Infrastructure Commission Chair Sir John Armitt has today written a letter to the editor of the Daily Telegraph in response to its editorial highlighting challenges facing the UK’s waste and recycling infrastructure. The text of the published letter is reproduced below. ‘Sir – Your characterisation of UK recycling as “chaotic” is worryingly accurate. Dealing...
London electric vehicle plan must inspire action to charge up all UK cities
London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s programme to boost electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the capital annouced today recognises the importance of new infrastructure to support the wider take-up of electric cars and vans, in line with National Infrastructure Commission recommendations, but it should form part of wider national initiatives to boost the take-up of electric vehicles...