The narrative around the energy transition is becoming increasingly divisive. Yet when you take the politics out, it really comes down to a very practical challenge of how we switch from using one energy source to another, in the cheapest, fairest and most efficient way possible.

For ordinary people, this means replacing devices that run on fossil fuels with electric ones. The average life of a technology that burns fossil fuels is 15 years, so by the middle 2030s, the target is to stop selling appliances that burn fossil fuels. This is very doable and brings benefits beyond protecting our climate.

Electric technologies offer far greater control and flexibility, for instance, a heat pump or other electric heating system provides greater temperature control and around-the-clock comfort. Anyone who has driven an EV knows that it is far more relaxing to drive, smooth and comfortable with no engine noise or vibration. Electric devices are cleaner – cooking with an electric induction hob massively improves indoor air quality and our health.

Under net zero, our lives will essentially be the same, but our technologies will be cleaner, smarter, more controllable and flexible. This is not about imposing unwanted technologies on consumers, but a story of progress. However, we need to make them affordable for everyone.

This week’s announcement of an Electric Car Grant of up to £3,750 for EVs which meet the government’s low carbon manufacturing standards, will narrow the upfront cost between petrol and electric vehicles. EVs are already cheaper to run. And households without driveways will benefit from new funding that will pay for gullies to run charging cables over pavements.

People also worry about the cost to our economy. Chris Stark, who heads the government’s taskforce on energy, reports that the investment for net zero will cost just 0.2% of GDP, nowhere near the inflated costs circulating online. He also argues that there is a long-term benefit from using more energy-efficient electric technologies through increased productivity in our economy.

In effect, the world is in a technological race and countries with more electric technology are predicted to win. China has gained an advantage in being the largest producer of renewables and EVs. Most countries are now pursuing some form of net zero target and Asian countries are moving much faster than Western nations.

North Sea oil and gas are in inevitable decline and the UK is increasingly constrained by having to buy fossil fuels from petrostates. It’s not good for us to be dependent on any one country, whether a petrostate or a supply chain dominated by China. And climate change itself is making the world more precarious.

The UK should work towards developing and manufacturing its own electric technologies, EVs and renewables. After all, net zero is a non-negotiable planetary boundary that we are going to have to reach sooner or later as temperatures rise.