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Energy Developments in the United Kingdom

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couverture du briefing de l'Ifri sur l'énergie au Raoyaume-Uni
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The United Kingdom (UK) has traditionally been an example for its neighbours and the world in developing ambitious, innovative and effective energy policies. 

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Offshore wind turbines in North Wales
Offshore wind turbines in North Wales
© Antony Robinson/Shutterstock.com
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Beyond its natural local resources (firstly coal, then oil and gas, windy coastlines), it enjoys the presence of big companies, innovative financiers, astute legislators, lawyers and commodity traders, who have set up the highest standards whether in terms of regulatory schemes or financial tools, such as, just to quote one, the Contract for Difference used to derisk private investment. 

As the Labour government led by Keir Starmer seeks to reset its relations with the European Union (EU), damaged by Brexit, and the EU seeks partners on defense and upholding multilateralism in increasingly fraught geopolitics, this isa good moment to take stock of the energy developments taking place in the UK, while accounting for existing challenges. Indeed, Brexit so far has not been delivering on its promise of a brighter future outside the EU, with the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) not looking better than the EU’s over the last five years. However, economic growth was a surprising 0,7% in Q1 2025 and the UK signed a first trade deal with the United States (US) in May 2025.

Key takeaways:

  • Energy transition is well engaged in the United Kingdom (UK), with coal phased out, offshore wind poised to replace gas, but also eased by the industrial decline of the country.
  • The UK has a strong profile to become a European leader on offshore wind and CCUS (Carbon Capture Usage and Storage), provided conditions are improved and that cooperation with the European Union (EU) is fostered.
  • The UK has reduced its GHG emissions by half since 1990 and shows similar renewable energy share in the power sector as the EU. Yet, EU’s and UK’s ETS are increasingly diverging on price and future CBAM schemes may complicate energy relations.
  • A stronger UK-EU relationship would help to overcome challenges and to deliver the promises of the energy transition, energy security and industrial competitiveness.
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ISBN / ISSN

979-10-373-1046-0

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Energy Developments in the United Kingdom

Decoration
Author(s)
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Climate & Energy
Center for Energy & Climate
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Ifri's Energy and Climate Center carries out activities and research on the geopolitical and geoeconomic issues of energy transitions such as energy security, competitiveness, control of value chains, and acceptability. Specialized in the study of European energy/climate policies as well as energy markets in Europe and around the world, its work also focuses on the energy and climate strategies of major powers such as the United States, China or India. It offers recognized expertise, enriched by international collaborations and events, particularly in Paris and Brussels.

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The Strategic Dimension of Power System Flexibility: Opportunities in Europe

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The European Union has embarked on an energy transition aimed primarily at replacing fossil fuels by electrifying demand. 

Cédric PHILIBERT Arthur de LASSUS
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India’s Green Hydrogen Strategy in Action: Policy Actions, Market Insights, and Global Opportunities

Date de publication
24 April 2025
Accroche

India is poised to remain the world’s fastest-growing major economy, and this rapid growth is driving a sharp rise in energy demand. As the most populous country on the planet, India urgently needs to decarbonize its energy systems.

Akul RAIZADA
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Water in Mexico: an Emergency that Will Wait

Date de publication
22 April 2025
Accroche

Access to water is already and will become increasingly problematic for Mexican economic actors due to the progressive scarcity of the resource resulting from climate change, a geographical distribution that does not coincide with that of the population or economic activity, and management that has so far been far too lax. 

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AI, Data Centers and Energy Demand: Reassessing and Exploring the Trends

Date de publication
24 February 2025
Accroche

The information and communication technologies sector today accounts for 9% of global electricity consumption, data centers for 1-1.3%, and artificial intelligence (AI) for less than 0.2%. The growing energy demands of cloud services first, and now AI workloads (10% of today’s data centers electricity demand), have exacerbated this trend. In the future, hyperscale data centers will gain shares amongst all kinds of data centers and AI will probably account for around 20% of data centers electricity demand by 2030.

Laure de ROUCY-ROCHEGONDE Adrien BUFFARD
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Offshore wind turbines in North Wales
© Antony Robinson/Shutterstock.com

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Energy Developments in the United Kingdom