Now that is code, not a subtle one, for “rule out hydrogen for heat”. At least the Climate Change Committee had the bottle to say this directly in their latest report, calling for the government to make this strategic decision to encourage consumers to take up electric heating options.

Now I will let you into a secret, inside government they have already done this. Well according to an academic I met a few weeks ago, who had been working with senior officials at DESNZ to “put the final nail in the coffin for hydrogen for heating” as he told me. Obviously, this is before the official departmental consultation begins, so don’t be surprised when you read it.

I was reminded of a NESTA study that found there was no evidence that consumers were delaying the purchase of a heat pump because hydrogen boilers might be coming soon. So why attack the wrong enemy?

The NESTA report suggested that installation and running costs were the two major barriers to uptake. Why not tackle these instead? Why doesn’t the CCC advocate for running cost guarantees for heat pump installations? Or as a proxy, insist on a COP that delivers cost savings for all heat pumps? (currently a COP of 2.8 is required for subsidised installs, which makes them more expensive than a boiler at standard unit prices).

In attacking the wrong enemy, the blinkered view of those who are “against” a potential route to net zero show themselves in a poor light. They want to tackle climate change, but on their terms only. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, carbon in the atmosphere is the real enemy and all options should be explored to fight it. That could be heat pumps, heat networks or hydrogen boilers. It may be all of them or none. But ruling out certain options now strikes me as an approach that only those with poor ideas of their own pursues.