The UK has pledged to reach “net zero” – where no additional planet-warming greenhouse gases are added to the atmosphere – by 2050.
To achieve this, much more energy needs to come from renewable and low-carbon sources, and much less from fossil fuels.
How is the UK’s energy produced? In 2022, the majority of the primary energy consumed within the UK (78.4%) came from coal, oil and gas, known as fossil fuels.
That is down from 87.2% in 2012, mainly due to the declining use of the dirtiest fossil fuel, coal .
“Primary” energy refers to fuels in their raw form , before they are converted into “useful” energy which heats and powers homes, businesses, transport and industry.You often get much less useful energy out than you put in, particularly with fossil fuels.
Breakdown of energy consumption in the UK by primary fuel type in 2022: coal 3.0%; oil 36.0%; gas 39.3%, nuclear 6.1%, bioenergy 9.6%, wind 4.1%, solar 0.7%, natural hydropower 0.3%, other 0.9%.Note that “other” includes non-biodegradable waste – which has been excluded from the bioenergy and waste category as it is not considered renewable – and net electricity imports.Source: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.[October 2023] Around one-fifth (20.7%) of UK primary energy consumption was from “low-carbon” sources in 2022 – up from 12% in 2012.
“Low-carbon” includes renewables such as wind, solar, hydropower and bioenergy, as well as nuclear.
Nuclear is not renewable, but is classed as low-carbon because power stations do not directly release greenhouse gases during their operation.
The output from nuclear energy has actually fallen by around a third in the past decade due to ageing reactors .
How the sources of primary energy use within the UK have changed, 1996-2022.
Key trends are the declining use of coal, sustained use of natural gas and oil and growth of wind and solar.[October 2023] How does the UK produce its electricity? Electricity generation accounted for around a third of the UK’s total fuel usage in 2022.
Of the electricity generated in the UK in 2022 :
40.8% came from fossil fuels
56.2% from low-carbon sources, including 41.5% from renewables and 14.7% from nuclear
Breakdown of electricity used in the UK by fuel type in 2022: coal 1.7%; oil 0.7%; gas 38.4%, nuclear 14.7%, bioenergy 11.0%, wind 24.7%, solar 4.1%, natural hydropower 1.7%, other 3.0%.Note that “other” includes pumped storage and alternative sources.Source: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.[August 2023] By comparison, for electricity generated in 2012:
67.6% came from fossil fuels
30.7% came from low-carbon sources, including 11.3% from renewables and 19.3% from nuclear.
Power generation from coal has fallen sharply, although natural gas usage remains high.
Story continues The use of both wind and solar power has increased rapidly.In the first three months of 2023, wind generated more electricity than gas .
How the sources of electricity generation within the UK have changed, 1996-2022.
Key trends are the declining use of coal, sustained use of natural gas and growth of wind and solar.[August 2023] How can the UK reduce carbon emissions from energy? To meet the UK’s legally-binding target to be net zero across the economy by 2050, the government said that all electricity should be generated from “clean” sources by 2035 .
Remaining non-electric energy use will have to be net zero by 2050.
Because electricity can be generated by low-carbon sources rather than fossil fuels, demand for it is expected to grow by 40-60% by 2035 – for example as heating and transport systems become more electrified.
Ensuring electricity is generated as cleanly as possible will therefore be increasingly important to meet the overall net zero goal.
To achieve this, the government has announced ambitious targets to increase the capacity of offshore wind , nuclear , carbon capture and hydrogen .
Is the UK on track to meet its net zero targets?
Could Sunak’s green review threaten UK net zero?
Is the government doing enough? Recent reports by the government’s independent climate advisers the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the National Audit Office and a cross-party group of MPs have all warned that the UK risks missing its 2035 “clean” electricity target without much faster action.
Key recommendations include:
reducing natural gas usage more quickly
improving homes’ energy efficiency
changing planning laws to speed up renewable projects
reforming the electricity grid to pass on the cheaper running costs of renewables to consumers
How much of the UK’s energy is imported? In 2022, the UK imported about 37% of its primary energy .
That represents a drop from nearly 50% in the early 2010s, but the figure is still higher than in the late 1990s, when the UK was a net exporter – sending more energy abroad than it imported.
UK dependency on energy imports.% of the UK’s energy that is imported (positive) or exported (negative), 1998-2022.Shift from the UK being a net exporter of energy in the late 1990s and early 2000s to being a net importer thereafter – reaching a peak of nearly 50% in the early 2010s.[August 2023] The UK imports proportionally less of its electricity – typically about 5%.
What about energy security? The importance of energy security was highlighted when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted the gas market.
The reduction in Russian supplies caused global energy prices to soar , and pushed up consumer bills in the UK.
Russia significantly reduced the amount of gas sent to Europe through its Nord Stream 2 pipeline The government argues that new UK oil and gas production will help “secure our domestic energy supply and reduce reliance on hostile states”.
It confirmed in July that 100 new North Sea oil and gas licences would be awarded.Production at the UK’s largest undeveloped oil and gas field, Rosebank, was approved in September , and may begin in late 2026.
But critics point out that oil and gas prices are set internationally, meaning new production may have little effect on energy prices.
Much of the oil produced by the UK is exported anyway.
The CCC, along with environmental think tanks Green Alliance and the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit , argue that investing in renewables would be the best way to lower bills for customers and boost energy security by reducing demand for fossil fuel imports .
The government’s climate advisers warned in June 2023 that the “expansion of fossil fuel production is not in line with net zero ” commitments.
The International Energy Agency says “there is no need for investment in new coal, oil and gas”, and that new projects put international climate agreements at risk.
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