Towards An All-Electric Economy

Julian Gough

World Economics, 2026, vol. 27, issue 2, 1-40

Abstract: This paper provides a critical examination of the UK's policy drive towards an all-electric economy, tracing its origins to the 2008 Climate Change Act and the subsequent legal commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, despite early official estimates showing substantial net economic costs. The study questions the scientific foundations of the IPCC's hypothesis that rising atmospheric CO2 from fossil fuels is the primary driver of dangerous global warming. Through empirical analysis of temperature and CO2 data over the last 1,000 years (including both the original IPCC temperature records and the later hockey stick reconstruction), it finds only a weak statistical relationship, with CO2 explaining at most around 20% of temperature variation in recent decades. The paper highlights major practical and economic flaws in the transition to an all-electric future, including the intermittency of wind and solar power, the loss of reliable base-load generation, sharply rising electricity costs for consumers and industry, reduced consumer choice in heating and transport, and the de-industrialisation risks posed by carbon taxes and prohibitions on fossil fuels. From a broader policy perspective, the critique contrasts the UK and EU's regulatory, subsidy-driven approach with the US's recent rejection of IPCC-led policies under President Trump, arguing that net-zero policies lack a strong democratic mandate, impose enormous costs (estimated up to 7.4 trillion), and threaten energy security, while neglecting the benefits of CO2 and the benign nature of current global temperatures.

Date: 2026
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