Inaugural Address by the Energy Secretary at the Energy Security Summit of Tomorrow

Francine, I sincerely appreciate your welcome. 

Distinguished delegates, on behalf of the UK government and the International Energy Agency, I am delighted to welcome you to the historic Lancaster House and to London for this inaugural global summit on the Future of Energy Security. 

As Francine mentioned, we have an impressive representation of nearly 60 countries here today.  

I want to express my gratitude to each of you for making the journey here. Your participation is invaluable, and we eagerly anticipate the discussions over the next two days. 

We are also joined by leaders from over 50 global businesses. 

Thank you all for your efforts in fostering energy security for our nations and for the world.  

Additionally, we have NGOs and civil society groups from across the globe with us, playing a crucial role in holding governments accountable.

I would like to extend a special thank you to the official partners of this summit: Iberdrola-Scottish Power, National Grid, SSE, and Urenco.  

I must also acknowledge the teams at the International Energy Agency and throughout the UK government who have worked tirelessly to organize this event. It’s truly a remarkable achievement. 

Furthermore, I wish to pay particular tribute to Fatih Birol. Fatih, your stewardship of the IEA for nearly a decade has been characterized by your dedication to rigor, values, and multilateral cooperation. This commitment is what makes the IEA integral to the global discourse on energy, and I thank you for that. Perhaps the audience would join me in showing our appreciation for Fatih and his contributions. 

While you’ll soon hear from more engaging speakers than myself in the upcoming sessions, I would like to share a few thoughts to frame our discussions over the next couple of days.  

First, we collectively agree that in today’s unstable and uncertain world, energy security is key to both national and international security.   

Indeed, it has been over 50 years since the establishment of the IEA, which emerged in response to the oil crisis of 1973.

During this period, the nature of the challenges we face has evolved.  

However, the fundamental principle at the heart of the IEA’s mission remains unchanged: nations must collaborate to secure a continuous supply of energy at an accessible price.  

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we in the UK, along with many across Europe and globally, have been reminded of a fundamental truth:  

As long as energy can be manipulated as a weapon against us, our nations and citizens remain vulnerable.  

This underscores why energy security is also vital for economic security, as it is essential to living standards, job creation, and economic growth.  

We hope this summit serves as a significant opportunity for nations to unite and discuss the implications of the shifting global landscape for achieving energy security in this new era.

Second, the initiative to convene this summit, which I have pursued alongside Fatih and the IEA, is founded on a shared belief in the benefits of cooperation on common interests.  

It is crucial to acknowledge that each country faces its unique energy security challenges and constraints.  

Each nation will chart its course, guided by its national interest in securing energy supplies.  

It’s important to recognize that different pathways for different countries deserve respect.  

We will all have the opportunity to reflect on our varying national circumstances during our discussions in the coming days. 

But here is the essential point: regardless of our national paths, I believe we share a fundamental conviction that common challenges call for shared solutions. 

Multilateral cooperation can empower us rather than weaken us—advancing our own national interests. 

Point three—hopefully, this will also resonate as a unifying concept—I believe we are all optimists about the potential we hold for society. Business, government, civil society—we are optimists in this energy sector. 

Abundant energy has the potential to elevate living standards, boost economic growth, and serve today’s and future generations. 

For the UK, we envision a promising future of energy security and abundance through affordable, low-carbon domestic power. 

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we witnessed the financial turmoil impacting families, businesses, and public sectors due to soaring fossil fuel prices worldwide, including in the UK. 

While oil and gas, including resources from our North Sea, will continue to play a significant role in our energy framework, we recognize that we are price takers, not price setters in global fossil fuel markets.   

Thus, our pursuit of low-carbon power is driven by far more than climate imperatives—which are, of course, critical. Homegrown low-carbon energy represents our chosen pathway to energy security. 

Solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, and nuclear power are all vital components of this low-carbon opportunity. 

These resources often offer virtually unlimited, cost-effective energy options that we can harness for the benefit of our populace. 

To clarify, we are pragmatically committed to the role of low-carbon energy in achieving energy security. 

I believe that this perspective is not unique to the UK; alongside a continued essential role for oil and gas, low-carbon energy can be pivotal in securing energy for many countries worldwide. 

This presents solutions to energy security that simply weren’t available in the same way as fifteen years ago—and this is an important point—thanks to the efforts of many nations represented here today, in collaboration with the private and public sectors. 

The cost of solar energy has plummeted by 90% since 2010.   

Offshore wind costs have decreased by over 60%. 

This is part of why last year, $2 trillion was invested in clean energy, with renewables and nuclear accounting for 80% of new electricity generation. 

According to BNEF, for over two-thirds of the global population, renewable sources are now the cheapest means of large-scale power generation. 

In the spirit of multilateralism, the UK is dedicated to collaborating with others to accelerate this transition through initiatives like our Global Clean Power Alliance, which the Prime Minister launched at the G20 last year. 

To conclude, I urge us to embrace this spirit of optimism as we navigate these discussions, especially in a time when many global issues appear insurmountable. 

I genuinely hope everyone enjoys this summit and your time in London. 

I want to conclude with a message from His Majesty The King, which he has requested I share with all of you, given his personal interest in this summit. 

Here is King Charles’s message: 

As we navigate the transition to cleaner energy for our planet and energy security for our citizens, summits like these are crucial for enabling shared learning among nations, particularly those in the global south and throughout the Commonwealth.  

Recent events have shown that, if managed well, this transition to more sustainable energy sources can lead to more resilient and secure energy systems.  

While each country will chart its unique course, we face many common challenges and opportunities on which we can collaborate as partners.

He concludes by saying: 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your participation in this summit on the future of energy security and to extend my warmest wishes for productive discussions in the days ahead.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you tremendously for being here, and it is now my great honor to introduce the Executive Director of the IEA, Dr. Fatih Birol.