Britain will find “common ground” with the US on energy and the economy including on nuclear power, despite differences over climate policy, the UK energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has pledged.
He was speaking at the close of a two-day, 60-country conference in London on energy security, hosted by the government and the International Energy Agency (IEA), at which the US delegate Tommy Joyce attacked net zero policies as “dangerous” and “damaging”, and said it was in the interests of “our adversaries”.
Miliband said the UK would work with the US. “The prime minister has shown absolutely the right leadership on this which is that President Trump is the duly elected president of the US, elected on a clear mandate,” he said. “We are the duly elected government of the UK, also elected on a clear mandate. Obviously, there are some differences, but there is also common ground.”
He added: “The US is interested in a nuclear renaissance, in building new nuclear as part of its energy mix. So is the UK, in small as well as large scale nuclear. Part of our job is to find that common ground, to work together with the US on these issues.”
He also hinted at possible future cooperation on geothermal power.
The Guardian understands that although Miliband did not have a formal bilateral meeting with Joyce, an acting assistant secretary at the Department of Energy, they chatted informally at a dinner held on Thursday night. Donald Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris climate agreement, attacked renewable power and boosted the production of fossil fuels.
Joyce also made it clear that the US wanted to export more gas, though the Guardian understands potential deals with the UK were not discussed in the chat with Miliband.
Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA, warned that all countries must “take a multilateral approach” to energy, in the interests of their own national security.
“If you’re an exporter, you have to have an importer – no country is an energy island,” he said. “So there is a need for cooperation.”
Miliband also said attacks on the goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 had failed to dent the government’s clean energy and climate ambitions.
“Whether it is political parties or other forces that want to take on net zero and the clean energy transition, they need to know this government is not for bending,” he said. “This government is not for buckling. This government is standing firm. And you know what, I think the British people are on that side.”
Some renewable energy industry insiders believe recent US actions – Trump abruptly ordered a halt to a major offshore wind project in New York and has threatened further disruption to renewables – are driving away green investors who may seek a safe haven in the UK.
