Now got through the #EnergyWhitePaper. It's a great read & impressive set of proposals. Congrats to those at @beisgovuk & across Govt for getting it over the line!

Twitter is awash with summaries of what's in it, so instead I offer some thoughts on what it did *not include...

If you cast your mind back to when the Energy White Paper process started (was it 2017 or 2018?), the big question seemed to be around market design to deliver decarbonisation at the lowest cost - a response to the Cost of Energy review.

In the meantime the UK has set more ambitious carbon targets and the green recovery narrative has come to the fore. But those original market design questions remain. How will we incentivise zero carbon energy sources whilst ensuring security of supply, all at least cost?

In power, there are now useful pointers on the likely mix of sources. But I'm left wondering whether the current market and policy structures will deliver this? Is the idea to 'return to the market' (ala Amber Rudd) or will investments be directed by Govt through the CM+CfD?

Will the current wholesale market structure remain intact, wither away, or evolve towards Net Zero? Will we need locational pricing? Will the UKETS be sufficient or will we also keep the CPS? How will the CM deliver zero carbon firm capacity?

In heating - the white paper sets out proposals to kickstart delivery of heat pumps and hydrogen to around 2030. But this is all grant led and doesn't really tackle deeper questions about how to incentivise low carbon shift. Do we need a carbon price on domestic gas?

Similarly on transport, the regulated ban on ICE sales from 2030 is laudable, but unclear how consumers will bridge the higher upfront costs. Nor does it tackle the question of how to make up £30bn+ of fuel duty receipts e.g. through road user charging.