(Oil Price) – Britain has urged some of the world’s biggest powers to adopt clean energy at a faster pace to boost energy security during a time of geopolitical turmoil. The United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, appealed to world leaders to accelerate the global green transition during the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, held in France from 26th to 27th March.
The Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations includes the U.S., Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, along with the European Union. Reeves attended the conference alongside U.K. Energy Minister Ed Miliband, who is well-known for his staunch support for renewable energy sources.
Ahead of the G7 meeting, Reeves told journalists, “As we move faster on renewables and nuclear, our partners in the G7 must do the same – because staying stuck on the rollercoaster of global oil and gas prices will help nobody.” She added, “That transition is strongest when countries act together. By working across the G7, we can accelerate investment and build momentum. Energy bills are coming down for families this week thanks to the actions of this Labour government – action that was opposed by the Tories and Reform.”
Reeves has been strongly criticised by the U.K. Conservative Party (Tories) and the right-wing Reform Party for her vocal opposition to new fossil fuel projects. The Chancellor said that she turned down calls from the Conservatives to issue new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea as she believed they would not protect the U.K. from further energy shocks or drive down consumer energy bills. Since coming into government in 2024, Labour has banned new oil and gas licensing to focus on growing Britain’s renewable energy capacity, a move that has been widely welcomed by economists and climate experts.
Meanwhile, new evidence suggests that hundreds of North Sea licences granted by the Tories have, so far, produced just 36 days of gas. Research conducted by the energy consultancy Voar and the campaign group Uplift shows that between 2010 and 2024, the Conservative government approved hundreds of new North Sea oil and gas licences in seven licensing rounds. The report suggests that the 20 new and relicensed fields that have the potential, over their life span, to provide enough gas to supply the U.K. for half a year, have provided just 36 days of extra gas to date.
This has led many to doubt the effectiveness of the Conservatives’ and Reform’s calls for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, as a means of boosting energy security and driving down energy bills, particularly as many of the U.K.’s oil reserves have long been depleted. Meanwhile, Reeves has accused the Tories and Reform of chasing headlines rather than addressing the root causes of energy security.
Some have already suggested that the current geopolitical challenges may be the wake-up call the world needs to take the importance of a more diverse energy mix seriously. The ongoing war in Iran has caused the largest oil disruption in history, according to an analysis by consulting firm Rapidan Energy. With the global trade significantly impeded by the almost complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz – a key trade corridor connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, the world’s ongoing dependence on fossil fuels has become evident.
Sam Butler-Sloss, the research manager at global energy thinktank Ember, told journalists, “The Iran crisis accelerates the shift to renewables and electrification. High fossil prices drive switching, making already cheap electrotech even more competitive.” Butler-Sloss added, “In the old fossil fuel world, energy security meant diversifying fuel supply. With electrotech, nations now have the tools to increasingly eliminate imported fuels altogether.”
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is pushing harder than ever for countries to deploy more green energy capacity, as well as strengthen their energy supply chains, by reducing reliance on foreign powers for key materials and components. “I expect one of the responses to this crisis will be [an] acceleration of renewables. Not only because they are helping to reduce the emissions but also, they are a homegrown domestic energy source,” the IEA’s Executive Director, Fatih Birol, said during a press event in March.
It is still unclear whether the ongoing Middle East conflict will be enough of a reason to pursue a new era of green energy revolution, as was seen during and following the Covid-19 pandemic; however, some powers are pushing for an accelerated rollout of renewable energy to boost energy security. As the U.S. shifts away from an energy policy focused on green transition, the U.K. has stepped up to the global stage to encourage the world to diversify its energy mix, to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and help avoid another global energy crisis.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com
