UK Urges G7 to Speed Up Clean Energy Shift
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- Rachel Reeves urged G7 partners to accelerate the global green transition at the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting in France (March 26-27), telling journalists the UK is 'moving faster on renewables and nuclear' and that 'staying stuck on the rollercoaster of global oil and gas prices will help nobody.'
- The Labour government has banned new oil and gas licensing since taking power in 2024, with Reeves rejecting Conservative and Reform Party calls for new North Sea licences, a move welcomed by economists and climate experts.
- Research by Voar and Uplift found that hundreds of North Sea licences approved by Conservatives across seven licensing rounds (2010-2024) have produced just 36 days of extra gas to date, undermining Tory and Reform arguments for more drilling.
- The 20 new and relicensed North Sea fields could supply the UK with half a year of gas over their full lifespan, but have delivered only 36 days of actual production so far.
- The Iran conflict and near-complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused the largest oil disruption in history according to Rapidan Energy, crystallising the case for weaning the world off fossil fuels.
- IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said he expects the crisis to accelerate renewable deployment, calling renewables 'a homegrown domestic energy source' that reduces reliance on foreign powers.
- Sam Butler-Sloss of Ember argued the Iran crisis 'accelerates the shift to renewables and electrification' because high fossil fuel prices make already cheap electrotech more competitive, reshaping what 'energy security' even means.
Why it matters: The UK's push comes as the US retreats from green energy policy, leaving Britain to try to fill a leadership vacuum in global climate diplomacy. The Voar/Uplift data — 36 days of gas from years of Conservative-era North Sea licensing — gives Reeves concrete ammunition against domestic drill-baby-drill pressure, while the Iran-driven oil price shock provides political cover for accelerating the transition at the G7 level.
