A new report commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown was released earlier this week in response to the ever-increasing demand for energy security for the UK. Authored by the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on International Energy, Rt. Hon. Malcolm Wicks MP, the report – “Energy Security: A national challenge in a changing world” – complements the recommendations set forth in the recently published UK Low Carbon Transition Plan.
As the UK moves from a relatively energy-independent nation to one of significant dependence upon energy imports, Wicks contends that there is no crisis. To best prepare for the rough road ahead and produce a better balance between domestic and international resources, the UK must take several important steps, including building up renewables to a target of 15% of all energy by the year 2020; facilitating a new generation of civil nuclear plants; and establishing a number of energy efficiency programs, Wicks advised in the report.
“My conclusion is that the era of heavy reliance on companies, competition, and liberalization must be re-assessed. The time for market innocence is over. We must still rely on companies for exploration, delivery, and supply, but the state must become more active – interventionist where necessary. This is critical in Europe,” Wick said. Although he foresees a continued heavy reliance on imports for the UK, there must be a number of sources. “There can be no over-reliance on any one region, country, energy source, or pipeline,” he said.
Fossil fuels will remain the energy source in greatest global demand, likely to increase over the next decade and stretch into the longer term. The report takes into consideration the risks involved with such a large-scale reliance on one energy source, the fear that fossil fuels cannot keep pace with global demand, the limited number of resource-rich countries and restrictions on the involvement of foreign companies in those countries, and resources becoming more expensive and difficult to exploit, all compounded by the worldwide economic downturn.
Wicks supports the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, which aims to boost renewables and energy efficiency. “Having been for many years well favored for gas supply, with ample UK production and limited opportunities to export this, we are now increasingly integrated into the European gas market,” he said.
The report explores ways for the government to address the situation at hand in the UK and proposes an initial framework involving both international and domestic policy to reduce total energy demand. From there, the report discusses the need to implement technologies that will reduce reliance on oil and gas and reduce carbon emissions simultaneously. Finally, Wicks recommends ways to mitigate the risks involved in the use of fossil fuels while striving for international energy security.
The Government plans to carefully consider the recommendations set forth in the report and will publish a formal response.
Wicks’ full review can be found here
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