Collaborate on energy security or be vulnerable, Britain tells global meeting

By Susanna Twidale

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain urged closer international cooperation to improve energy security, telling other nations and business leaders on Thursday they would otherwise be vulnerable to those who were willing to weaponise supplies.

Security of energy supply shot up the agenda of countries around the world after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to global price spikes and made the EU seek to curb its reliance on Russian fuels.

"There can be no national or international security without energy security.. as long as energy can be weaponised against us our countries and our citizens are vulnerable and exposed," Britain's energy minister Ed Miliband said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, together with 55 governments and around 50 energy industry leaders are attending a two-day energy security meeting in London organised by the UK Government and International Energy Agency.

"Recent events have shown us we cannot take energy security for granted," International Energy Agency Executive Director Faith Birol told the conference.

In a statement read out by Miliband, Britain's King Charles said events had shown the transition to more sustainable energy sources can lead to more resilient energy systems.

As the European Commission, the EU executive, continues its efforts to phase out Russian oil and gas imports by 2027, it is expected to announce a more detailed phase-out strategy early next month.

Britain is heavily exposed to fossil fuel price shocks and has some of the highest industrial energy costs, which ministers see as a major barrier to economic growth.

To counter that, the Labour government elected last July plans to largely decarbonise the country's electricity sector by 2030 and wants to increase renewable power, particularly offshore wind capacity.

Prior to the meeting Britain pledged to invest 300 million pounds ($399 million) in the domestic supply chain for offshore wind projects.

Britain ranks as the world's second-largest offshore wind market by capacity, after China, but the sector has suffered from high inflation and supply chain bottlenecks.

Government-backed GB Energy, established last year to drive investment in renewables, will invest in offshore wind component manufacturers to increase their production of components such as floating offshore platforms and cables.

The funding is part of the 8.3 billion pounds pledged for GB Energy over this parliament, with individual companies able to apply for grants by the end of the year.

However, Miliband repeated the government's position that oil and gas, including from the North Sea, would "continue to play an important role".

($1 = 0.7523 pounds)

(Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Barbara Lewis)