March 9, 2026
The government’s right: we need to exit the fossil fuel casino
BY: Charlotte Fraser
Topics: Oil and Gas
Oil and gas prices are skyrocketing as global supplies are squeezed by international war. Here in the UK, we are feeling this sharply: gas prices have almost doubled in less than a week and global oil prices have jumped by around 18% since the start of the conflict. Our dependence on fossil fuels is to blame, our Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has said, and to get true energy security in an increasingly unstable world, the UK must focus on expanding renewables, not more oil and gas. Here’s why he’s right:
Oil extracted in the UK is still at the whim of the international market
Drilling for more oil and gas in the UK does not mean our domestic supply will increase or cost less. Oil and gas are not state-owned: instead, extraction profits private companies and foreign state-owned enterprises who mainly sell it on the international market. We can buy it if we want, but we don’t get a special deal, and when there are issues with global supply, we can see terrifying price spikes.
In 2024, nearly 85% of the oil and natural gas liquids produced in the UK were exported.
This means that giving private companies the go ahead to drill for more oil and gas in the UK won’t boost our domestic supply, and it doesn’t change the fact that the UK doesn’t get to set its own price. It will just line the pockets of Big Oil CEOs, whilst our ocean, wildlife, and communities pay the price.
New drilling doesn’t deliver the security we need now
It takes on average 10 years to go from oil and gas exploration to production. That does nothing to address short-term price spikes or supply issues. All it does is keep our energy reliant on dangerous and unpredictable sources, putting bill-payers at risk.
Instead, we must focus on moving away from an energy system so prone to volatility and towards one that delivers genuine security. The next five years must be used to drive this green transition, not to wait around for more drilling that won’t do anything to address sky-high bills.
The only way to do this is through a swift transition to homegrown renewable energy.
Even if we drill, UK oil and gas is in short supply
Markets and prices may change but the reality of supplies of oil in the North Sea remains the same. They are heavily depleted, and oil and gas is harder and more expensive to find. We’ve seen a 75% reduction in production between 1999 and 2024.
We’re not sitting on boundless and accessible reserves of fossil fuels. But we do have easy and abundant access to other forms of energy. We have the wind, waves and sun on our side. These are sources of vast, cheap and available energy that we can unlock if we invest right now.
This transition has never been more urgent. We are seeing time and time again what plays out when our energy system is so deeply entwined with the unpredictability of global markets. What’s more, renewables, if done right, can deliver across the board. Wins for climate, nature and communities that keep bills and global temperatures down.
Clean energy + decommissioning = home-grown jobs
Even when the previous UK Government supported new North Sea drilling, jobs in the industry fell by 70,000 in a decade. However, over a similar period, we have seen a boom in renewables jobs: with 160,000 + from a standing start.
This clean energy revolution is not a simple good news story for politicians: it’s the hard yards of bringing our energy infrastructure into the 21st Century. Setting up the grid, improving storage and transmission and increasing efficiency. These are the jobs of the present, not the promises of the past.
That’s also not to mention the jobs that could be created within the oil and gas sector if the government focusses its efforts to unlock a world-leading decommissioning industry, rather than abandoning our crumbling infrastructure or exporting it abroad to be processed.
If the government is serious about energy security, providing long-term jobs and protecting our seas, then the only answer is to get its commitment to end new licences into law and invest in unlocking energy and job security that lasts for generations, not just for a couple of years.
To protect our seas, our climate and our bills we must say no to new oil and gas.
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