The Green Transition: Energy security is national security
Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy.
Dear Readers,
Welcome to a special edition of the Green Transition from the Spotlight on Policy team.
This is the last edition of the GT which we will be sending to you on Substack. In future, the GT will be subscriber only meaning that in order to receive it, you will need to nab yourself a digital subscription to the New Statesman. Lucky for you, we have a special offer on just for existing GT subscribers. It’s a bargain at 12 months for £12. Secure yours now to keep receiving weekly green analysis from myself, Jonny Ball and a host of other sector experts. You can claim the offer here.*
In this edition, we have a piece from a couple of big hitters - the Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary, Ed Miliband and Faith Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency have written exclusively for New Statesman Spotlight as part of last week’s energy summit. Their piece is below.
The conference also included a doubling down on the government’s Clean Power 2030 agenda from none other than Keir Starmer himself. The prime minister set out a clear dividing line between his government and the opposition parties (it’s currently a fight to the death between Kemi Badenoch’s ailing Conservatives and Nigel Farage’s insurgent Reform UK) who have turned their backs on the Net Zero agenda.
Speaking to delegates last week, Starmer echoed a sentiment offered to the New Statesman earlier this year by the leader of Scottish Labour, Anas Sarwar, namely that “energy security is national security”. The PM added: “Because homegrown clean energy is the only way to take back control of our energy system”. With the local elections looming over the rest of this week, next week the next couple of weeks will likely bring more analysis of the new government’s standing and its longevity. But with this speech he made clear, Clean Power is here to stay.
We’ll be back later in the week with some post-local election analysis. For now, we’ll leave you with Ed Miliband.
Let’s get to it!
We must rethink energy security for today’s complex world
By Ed Miliband and Faith Birol
The International Energy Agency (IEA) was founded after the oil price shock of 1973, marking a recognition of the need for a multilateral response to the crisis. More than 50 years on, recent events, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have demonstrated once again that energy security and national security are inextricably linked—and that lasting energy security comes from countries working together.
There are many challenges and opportunities today, including the rise of clean energy technologies as an increasingly important part of energy systems across the globe.
As circumstances change, countries need to take a fresh look at what it means to have secure energy systems.
Last year, oil’s share of the global energy mix fell below 30 per cent for the first time, way down from the mid-1970s when its share was close to 50 per cent. Major changes are taking place across energy systems, with technologies such as solar, wind and EVs growing rapidly, alongside a renaissance of nuclear power.
Indeed, according to IEA data, over 80 per cent of the increase in global electricity generation last year was provided by renewables and nuclear power – and around $2 trillion was invested in clean energy worldwide. Meanwhile, the world is entering a new age of electricity, with electricity use growing twice as fast as overall energy demand over the last decade and set to expand even further in the coming years.
Oil and gas will continue to play an important role in the global energy system for years to come, but for the UK and many other countries, investing in clean energy is now not just a climate imperative but an urgent national security imperative – and a way to make energy more affordable for households and businesses.
Russia’s use of its gas supplies to undermine the economies of European countries has caused massive energy price spikes that ruined family finances, business finances and public finances. This energy crisis has underscored for the UK and other countries the urgency of quickly reducing exposure to this key vulnerability.
Indeed, a key reason why the take-up of clean technologies has risen so dramatically is because costs are coming down so fast – by 90 per cent in the last decade for solar, by over 75 per cent for batteries, and 60 per cent for wind. That happened because of initial government support across multiple countries so that now, unsubsidised, these technologies represent the cheapest electricity sources for the vast majority of countries worldwide. Solar is providing the lowest-cost electricity in history.
The next frontier is other technologies that will be crucial in a low-carbon future. Small modular nuclear reactors represent a huge opportunity for Britain and indeed the world, alongside other industries of the future such as carbon capture and hydrogen.
As we develop this energy system of the future, we can also learn from each other on a whole host of other issues—including managing our grids, and building the transmission infrastructure we need.
We need to tackle the new energy security challenges that are emerging, including around the supply chains for clean energy technologies and the critical minerals that are used to make them.
At the same time, as we make this clean energy transition, there is a crucial role for co-operation on oil and gas across countries, so no country or region is exposed as Europe was before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It is important to emphasise that countries taking part in this summit will follow their own specific national path. Some will differ on the role of low-carbon energy sources and fossil fuels in their energy mix. It is important to respect and understand national differences.
But despite all the challenges, those gathered at the summit are united by having a huge opportunity. The world is developing and deploying new energy technologies at speed and at scale – and driving down their costs in an unprecedented way.
There is a vision of energy abundance, across developed and developing countries that can raise living standards, deliver energy security and do the right thing for future generations. At a time when so much of what is happening in the world looks so intractable, we carried that spirit of optimism into our deliberations at the summit.
*T&Cs: This offer is for a one-year digital subscription to newstatesman.com for £12 and is limited to new subscribers only. After your first year, you will continue to pay £79 every 12 months thereafter saving 34 per cent off our rate of £120. This offer will expire on 30 June 2025. For overseas rates, please select your country when you visit the offer page or call our customer service team on +44 (0) 808 284 9422. Lines are open 9am-5pm GMT Monday-Friday.
The Green Transition is produced by Spotlight, the New Statesman's online policy section and print supplement. Spotlight reports on policy for the people who shape it and the business leaders it affects. Explore our in-depth reporting and analysis here.
Thank you for reading.
Please send any news or comments to: megan.kenyon@newstatesman.co.uk