UK’s net zero policy criticised for undermining industrial resilience and energy security

A new paper by David Turver and Brian Monteith argues that Britain’s net zero strategy has helped hollow out its industrial base, and that reversing course would require a sweeping rethink of energy, taxation and regulation.

In a summary published by ThinkScotland, the authors claim the UK has become too dependent on imported energy and too willing to penalise domestic production. They argue that oil and gas still account for the bulk of national energy use, with coal a much smaller but still relevant part of the mix, and that policy has pushed the country towards costlier overseas supplies instead of secure home production. Recent data cited in the summaries show coal consumption in 2024 fell to a fraction of historic levels, while natural gas use also declined to its lowest point in more than two decades, even though oil and gas continued to dominate the overall energy mix.

The paper says those trends have wider consequences than power generation alone. It contends that hydrocarbons remain central to chemicals, fertilisers, plastics and pharmaceuticals, while gas and coal continue to underpin industrial heat for sectors such as cement, glass, ceramics, steel and aluminium. On that reading, high energy prices and carbon-related costs do not just affect utility bills; they also feed through to construction, manufacturing, data centres and the supply chains that support them.

The authors also attack the fiscal framework around North Sea oil and gas, calling for the removal of measures such as the Energy Profits Levy, the Oil and Gas Price Mechanism and the Carbon Price Support tax. They say such policies discourage investment and make Britain more reliant on imports, even as government data show total energy production fell again in 2024. The paper points to Norway as a model, arguing that the UK should encourage more exploration and development rather than leave additional resources undeveloped.

Beyond fossil fuels, the paper takes aim at the broader net zero architecture. It argues that electric vehicle mandates, subsidies and penalties imposed on manufacturers should be scrapped, that public procurement should be based on delivery rather than carbon signalling, and that financial and insurance rules should focus on actual risk rather than long-horizon climate assumptions. It also says international carbon accounting understates emissions associated with imported goods, allowing politicians to boast of domestic reductions while outsourcing production and emissions abroad.

The publication presents the case as an industrial strategy as much as an energy argument. Its authors say Britain’s productivity, export performance and regional employment are all being damaged by policies that raise the cost of domestic production while favouring imports. Whether that assessment persuades depends largely on one’s view of the trade-off between decarbonisation and competitiveness. But the paper’s central message is clear: if the UK wants to preserve heavy industry, it believes the country must start by treating energy security and industrial output as priorities in their own right.