Twelve months ago, the UK’s green credentials were in decline. Rishi Sunak’s government had just made major U-turns on policies designed to decarbonise the economy. Shortly afterwards, it approved drilling at Rosebank, the UK’s largest undeveloped oil and gas field. During the lead-up to last year’s annual United Nations climate summit, the government had no climate envoy and fuzzy positions on the phasing out of fossil fuels. One general election later, things have changed.
Since gaining power, Keir Starmer’s government has made strides towards turning Britain into a clean energy superpower—Labour’s second declared national mission. In the first 100 days of the new Labour administration, the UK has become the first G20 country to end coal power, a ban on onshore wind has been lifted, 131 new clean energy projects have been secured and legislation to establish the publicly owned company Great British Energy has been introduced. This boost in domestic ambition provides Starmer and his cabinet with an opportunity to spur global action at COP29 in Baku next month.
The new government is already taking steps to increase its diplomatic presence at this year’s summit in Azerbaijan. Ed Miliband, the energy security and net zero secretary, will lead negotiations for the UK. Furthermore, the government has restored the role of UK climate envoy—which the Conservatives left vacant for more than a year—appointing Rachel Kyte to the position. It seems unlikely that the UK will be left without high-level representation at this year’s conference.
Making progress on the UAE consensus, which denotes the agreement made during COP28 between 200 countries to “transition away from fossil fuels”, is vital. But it will be a challenge as countries descend on Baku, especially as many governments are planning to permit more oil and gas than a safe planet will allow. Worryingly, discussion stalled on this topic at the Bonn Climate Change Conference in June and the Azerbaijani COP29 Presidency has not listed the phase-out of fossil fuels as a summit priority.
The impacts of a volatile, expensive international energy system based on fossil fuels are clear. Climate change is intensifying menacing weather events like Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the United States, the former having devastated whole communities and killed hundreds of people. Meanwhile, global gas prices are causing energy bills for UK households to rise again this winter. The impetus to move at pace away from coal, oil and gas and towards alternatives is in the interest of climate safety, energy affordability and national security.
The UK is well placed to generate momentum on the phasing out of fossil fuels on the world stage. Starmer was elected on a manifesto that promised to end licensing for new oil and gas exploration—once the commitment is fulfilled, the UK will be the first G7 nation to do so. Following the Supreme Court’s Finch ruling, which demands that downstream emissions be considered in approval for new fossil fuel projects, the government’s decision not to defend legal challenges against the massive Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields demonstrates some good faith regarding ending reliance on oil and gas.
But the government must show that its support for a just transition away from fossil fuels is unwavering. That means properly engaging with unions and impacted groups. In the past decade, jobs supported by the North Sea’s oil and gas industry have more than halved, despite hundreds of new exploration licences during that time. Ahead of the upcoming budget, climate groups and trade unions are calling for a training fund to support workers as they transition to employment in renewables, as well as £1.9bn of further annual funding to support local jobs in wind manufacturing until 2030. Successive leaders have failed to create a transition that is fair for workers and communities. This would be the correct move for a government that doesn’t want to leave people behind.
Internationally, the government must work with other oil-and-gas-producing nations, particularly those in the Global South, to offer political, economic and technical support as they embark on their own journeys to increase wind, solar and tidal power. Some countries, including Denmark, which ended new oil and gas exploration licensing in 2020, and Colombia, which produces roughly the same amount of oil as the UK, are among the growing group of countries signed up to the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance.
At COP29, the UK should announce an intention to join this group of like-minded partners working to fairly phase out oil and gas production—and work to satisfy the requirements for membership before COP30. This would signal that the UK is serious in its intentions.
This is also important for nature. Colombia, which is hosting the UN’s lesser-known biodiversity summit in Cali this month, is pushing for greater synergy between reducing emissions and protecting nature. Oil and gas activity is eroding global biodiversity and threatening key protected areas for precious marine life in the North Sea. By moving away from fossil fuels, the UK and others will be contributing to efforts to protect and restore the natural world.
To avoid the most catastrophic levels of warming, governments around the world must raise the ambition of their current climate and energy policies. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is clear about this. The new Labour government, with its fresh approach to green issues, should use COP29 to show that the UK’s commitment to a fair global transition away from fossil fuels is alive and strong—and that it will play a leading role in this mission.
