Peter McCusker Energy & Climate

WHICHEVER country has the cheapest energy will get the best jobs and at the moment that is the United States as a result of its shale oil and gas revolution. This has slashed energy bills, will help make the US energy independent, and has created one million new jobs with a further two million expected. In a recent World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency warned that Europe could lose a third of its global share of exports from energy intensive industries because of price disparities between it and the US. This is particularly relevant to the North East, which is the only net exporter in the UK, with many of these goods made by the energy-intensive process industries on Teesside. But many of these companies – representing 30% of the region's industrial base – face energy price rises of up to 30% by 2020 and 50% by 2030, as a result of the UK’s green policies. There are also concerns over the security of the UK’s energy supplies with businesses fac...