UK’s Green Net Zero Plans Pose ‘Critical Risk’ to National Security – Report

CLACTON-ON-SEA, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: Gunfleet Sands offshore wind farm turbines can be
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Peter Caddle

The UK government’s Net Zero green agenda plans risk exposing the country to “critical risk”, a report drafted by MPs has claimed.

According to the report by the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy (JCNSS), Britain risks being exposed to “critical risks” regarding both energy and national security as a result of the UK government’s Net Zero green agenda.

Such a warning comes shortly after the country’s incoming Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, announced that he was doubling down on the Tory climate change crusade, even reimplementing a ban on fracking despite the ongoing energy and cost of living crises in the country.

What does not currently appear to be being considered by government ministers are the knock-on effects their crusade will have, with the JCNSS report indicating that there are concomitant risks associated with the planned transition.

In particular, the report cites the fragility of electricity infrastructure, which will become even more critical in the shift away from domestic gas.

“The transition to net zero is vital, but it will result in the UK becoming increasingly reliant on electricity and renewable energy sources, which are more vulnerable to extreme weather than gas and other fossil fuels,” the government report reads.

To make matters worse, the paper indicates that other forms of energy generation, being reliant on the availability of electricity, will be negatively affected by such weather events, a factor that will only increase Britain’s exposure to risk.

Ultimately, the report criticises the government for not taking nearly enough interest in the risk their current strategies pose to Britain’s critical national infrastructure (CNI), with MPs demanding that the state get a handle on the looming danger.

“As in our previous reports in this Parliament, we have unfortunately uncovered an extreme weakness at the centre of Government on a critical risk to the UK’s national security,” it reads.

“It appears that no Minister is taking responsibility for this topic, and there are no cross-Cabinet Committees driving forward the Government’s work on adaptation and CNI resilience,” it continued. “It is hard to imagine the Government taking such a lax approach to any other recognised national security risk.”

Despite such present dangers, the nascent Rishi Sunak government only appears to be even more hellbent on pushing through green reforms.

Sunak himself announced on Wednesday that the government was reintroducing the ban on fracking in England during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, a move in keeping with the green agenda but not helping the country’s energy independence, to prevent it falling victim to another winter energy crunch.

Expressing the desire to “redirect the world’s wealth” towards green causes, Sunak told the COP26 climate conference last year that he wanted to “rewire the entire global financial system for net zero”.

“We are going to move towards making it mandatory for firms to publish a clear, deliverable plan, setting out how they will decarbonise and transition to Net Zero,” he told the conference, adding that there will be an “independent task force” introduced to “define what’s required” of such firms.

How such a move will help the ever-increasing number of Britons struggling to heat their homes remains unknown however, with it now being warned that the UK could face rolling blackouts over the winter months should the energy situation not improve.

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