UK and China Strengthen Energy and Climate Cooperation

In the evening of March 15th, an exclusive interview was conducted at the residence of the UK Embassy in China.

Power market reform, power grids, battery energy storage, offshore wind power, CCUS, clean and low - carbon and renewable hydrogen will become the key areas of China - UK energy cooperation.

When the US withdrew from global climate governance, the UK is strengthening climate cooperation with China. From March 14th to 17th, the UK's Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero embarked on his first visit to China since taking office last year. During the more - than - three - day visit, he held talks with Huang Runqiu, the Minister of Ecology and Environment of China, and Wang Hongzhi, the Director of the National Energy Administration of China respectively.

This is the third visit of a UK cabinet minister to China since the UK Labour Party won the election in 2024 and Starmer was elected Prime Minister. Previously, UK Foreign Secretary Lammy and Chancellor of the Exchequer Reeves visited China in October last year and January this year respectively.

This visit will restart in - depth cooperation between the two countries in the fields of energy and climate. The last visit of a UK energy minister to China was in 2017, and the energy - climate - related agreement between the two countries dates back to 2015 when the National Energy Administration of China and the former UK Department of Energy and Climate Change signed the Memorandum of Understanding on China - UK Clean Energy Partnership.

On the day of his arrival in Beijing, the UK's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published an article titled "UK Restarts Meaningful Climate Dialogue with China" on its official website. The article stated that re - engaging with the world's second - largest economy is crucial for the UK and global climate and energy security. On the same day, the UK official also published an article in a UK newspaper, saying that failing to engage with China on this critical issue is a dereliction of duty to the present and future generations.

During the meeting with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the two sides discussed the prospects of cooperation in the fields of carbon market, climate investment and financing, energy transition, climate risk assessment and adaptation. During the meeting with the National Energy Administration, Wang Hongzhi and the UK official co - chaired the 8th China - UK Energy Dialogue. The two sides had in - depth exchanges of views on issues such as clean energy technology, energy transition path, energy security and international energy governance.

After the meeting, Wang Hongzhi and the UK official jointly signed a new Memorandum of Understanding on China - UK Clean Energy Partnership, clearly identifying power market reform and power grids, battery energy storage, offshore wind power, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), clean and low - carbon and renewable hydrogen as key cooperation areas.

The 55 - year - old UK official is serving as the energy minister for the second time. He served as the UK's Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in the Blair government from 2008 to 2010 and was deeply involved in the Copenhagen Climate Negotiations in 2009. From 2010 to 2015, he was the leader of the opposition Labour Party. In 2020, he became the Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero. In 2024, after the Labour Party won the general election, he returned to the government and is the only minister in the current UK cabinet to return to his previous position.

In the afternoon of March 15th, the UK official gave a speech titled "UK and China Join Hands to Tackle the Climate Crisis" at the Tsinghua University Climate Change Lecture Hall and then accepted an exclusive interview at the residence of the UK Embassy in China.

During the interview, the UK official repeatedly emphasized the importance of cooperation with China in the fields of tackling climate change and energy transition. After the US withdrew from the Paris Agreement, as an experienced figure in the climate field, he still has full confidence in the global advancement of the climate agenda and stated that the UK firmly supports the Paris Agreement.

After experiencing the energy crisis and geopolitical changes, the UK official believes that the UK needs to accelerate energy transition to ensure energy security. In his view, the UK's dependence on fossil energy makes it vulnerable to fossil fuel price fluctuations. Only by accelerating the deployment of new energy can multiple goals such as energy security, employment and growth be achieved.

In the field of clean energy technology, nuclear energy may no longer be a hot topic, but in the fields of offshore wind power and energy storage, Chinese and UK enterprises have played important roles in each other's markets. The UK official said that bilateral trade and investment can benefit both countries.

The following is the full text of the interview.

China - UK Climate Cooperation is Crucial

Question: As the first UK energy minister to visit China in eight years, what results will this visit bring? What does a meaningful climate dialogue mean?

Answer: First, let's talk about the importance of dialogue. The climate crisis knows no borders, and we are all affected by each other's actions. Therefore, cross - border cooperation is the only way. In this issue, due to China's status and its contribution to emission reduction, no country is more important than China. From my experience as the energy minister from 2008 to 2010, it is very important to establish a productive and strong partnership with China on climate issues, which is why I'm here.

Firstly, we need to learn from each other on how to achieve clean energy transition while promoting economic growth, reducing poverty and ensuring energy security. Secondly, we are facing not only political challenges but also technical challenges. UK universities have established good partnerships with Chinese counterparts in dealing with technical challenges, and it is also important to learn from each other on how to overcome these technical problems. We are also exchanging ideas on how to formulate net - zero emission paths. China's goal is 2060, and the UK's is 2050. We have shared our experience on carbon budgets and climate change frameworks with the Chinese side, and we hope to formalize this dialogue through regular meetings. In short, there is a lot for us to learn from each other, and we can work together bilaterally. Meanwhile, multilateral cooperation is also crucial to tackle this crisis.

Question: Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement. What impact does it have on the global climate process? This year's climate conference will discuss new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The UK has submitted its NDCs first. Can the global climate agenda continue to advance after the US withdrawal?

Answer: I think the global climate agenda will continue to advance. My experience in China and recent exchanges with counterparts from India and Brazil have made me deeply feel that countries are still firmly committed to it. Every country will make its own decisions based on its own interests and national interests. Trump was elected by the American people, and he has the right to make his own decisions, which we should respect. And we are making our own decisions based on the mandate of the British people: we firmly support the Paris Agreement. Ambitious climate action is important for energy security, employment and future generations. We hope to cooperate with other countries on these issues. Although the US has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, we will still seek common ground with it in the energy field as much as possible. At the same time, we will also conduct dialogue and cooperation with China, India, Brazil and other countries on relevant issues within the framework of the Paris Agreement. Generally speaking, looking at the global situation, I still have full confidence in the advancement of climate action. When the 29th Conference of the Parties was held last year, despite Trump's election and impending inauguration, countries were still firmly advancing the transition. Just like a glass half - filled with water, the positive part is that the transition is continuing, with 90% of countries putting forward carbon - neutrality goals, and the negative part is that the transition is not fast enough. Therefore, we put forward NDCs in line with the 1.5 - degree target. We obviously hope to see China show the greatest ambition. China's NDCs will convey very important information. From my perspective, under the conditions of China's national conditions and constraints, the more ambitious China's NDCs are, the better, which will send a very important and positive signal to the world. China's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 is an important part of the global climate pattern. In the long run, the world is moving towards this goal. In contrast, when I came here 16 years ago, people didn't even discuss "Net Zero", and the UK's goal was only to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050. People are easily desperate about what is happening because everyone thinks the world is not moving fast enough. But I think the world has made a lot of progress. It is important that countries that hope to continue making progress must keep moving forward. As I said, each country makes its own decisions based on its own situation, but in the long run, I think this trend is irresistible.

Question: Does the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement mean there may be more cooperation space between the UK or Europe and China?

Answer: I think regardless of the US's decision and whoever is elected President of the US, cooperation between the UK and China is very important. Global issues need global efforts to solve, which is a challenge of collective action. If you really want to solve this problem, leading countries must work together. I'm also very encouraged by the prospect of our joint efforts to tackle these challenges for the common interests of the UK and China.

The Answers to Energy Security and Climate Change are the Same

Question: In recent years, geopolitical factors have had an increasingly greater impact on energy prices. Will the UK adopt a more pragmatic approach to deal with energy security, energy transition and climate change issues?

Answer: For us, the pragmatic answers to energy security and climate change issues are the same. Because if we don't have domestic renewable energy, we won't have energy security. The UK's experience is that after the Russia - Ukraine conflict, fossil fuel prices soared. Since the UK's natural gas is traded on the international market and the prices of North Sea natural gas and imported natural gas are the same, enterprises and households faced serious problems, and the government had to pay £94 billion in subsidies. Therefore, unless we have domestic clean energy under our control, we won't have energy security. The so - called "energy impossible trinity" has changed. In our view, energy security, employment, growth and climate issues all point to vigorously promoting the development of renewable energy. Of course, each country has its own situation and special national conditions. This is also the most important point in the whole climate change discussion: we can learn from each other and try to persuade each other, but we must respect each country's national conditions. But from the UK's perspective, this is our choice.

Question: The UK plans to increase the proportion of clean energy to 95% by 2030. But renewable energy is volatile. How to ensure the safety of the power system?

Answer: We will use gas - fired power as a backup, aiming to reduce its proportion to 5% or even lower. Only in this way can we get rid of the impact of the roller - coaster of fossil fuel prices. The higher the proportion of renewable energy in the system, the safer we will be. We will also retain more than 30 GW of gas - fired power capacity as a backup. The key is that it is backup capacity. The more natural gas is used, the lower the energy security level will be because it will be more vulnerable to fossil fuel price fluctuations. Therefore, we should strongly promote new energy.

Question: So these gas - fired power plants will not operate at full capacity and are only used as backup, right?

Answer: That's right.

Question: What's your view on nuclear energy?

Answer: Nuclear energy is very important. Our power system will be mainly based on renewable energy, but nuclear energy plays a very important supporting role in the system. We support the construction of new nuclear power plants. Some of our existing nuclear power plants have had their service lives extended, and we are also promoting projects such as Hinkley Point C, Sizewell C and small - modular reactor research and development. Nuclear energy is an indispensable part of the energy jigsaw. In addition, we not only need to find new ways to meet the existing demand but also deal with the future growth of electricity demand. It is estimated that by 2035, electricity demand will increase by 50%, and it will double by 2050. Therefore, we need not only more energy but also more diverse energy sources.

Question: So, does China General Nuclear Power Group or other Chinese companies still have the opportunity to invest in UK's nuclear power projects?

Answer: China General Nuclear Power Group is currently a minority shareholder in the Hinkley Point C project.

Question: What about future projects?

Answer: Currently, we don't have specific plans to cooperate with China General Nuclear Power Group. But I think we can still learn from each other on issues such as small - modular reactors and large - scale nuclear power projects. It is very important to carry out cooperation and share experience in these fields. Of course, different countries have different positions and strategies on how to ensure energy security.

Question: Considering the UK's strategy for energy security, can you give a clear answer about the possibility of Chinese investment in UK's nuclear power?

Answer: I think both China and the UK have important investments in each other, and there are many other more potential fields besides nuclear energy.

The UK Needs to Build Its Own Clean Energy Supply Chain

Question: So in other potential fields, what are the cooperation opportunities in clean technology between China and the UK?

Answer: There are already some cases. For example, the energy - storage project in Wiltshire, UK, is invested by state - owned China Huaneng Group and Guoxin International Investment Co., Ltd., and built and operated by China Huaneng. This project is the largest energy - storage project in Europe. In the UK's offshore wind power projects, Dajin Heavy Industry supplies large - scale monopiles and towers. In China, UK companies such as Wood Group and James Fischer and Sons are helping with the operation and maintenance of China's offshore wind power. The air - lubrication system of Silverstream in the UK can reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and its growth in recent years has mainly benefited from the Chinese market. It is also cooperating with Youlian Shipyard under China Merchants Group. UK enterprises can invest in China, and Chinese enterprises can also invest in the UK. When making relevant decisions, we will of course pay attention to national security issues. But I think there are still many cooperation opportunities, and bilateral trade and investment can bring win - win results for both countries.

Question: China manufactures most of the world's wind turbines, solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles. When shifting to new energy, will the UK worry about over - dependence on China for energy security reasons?

Answer: I will look at it from another perspective. For the UK, what we must do more is to build our own supply chain in the UK. To some extent, the UK didn't emphasize building its own supply chain and manufacturing capacity in the past. Now, partly because we hope to see employment and growth from clean energy, we want to build our own supply chain. In addition, the diversity of the supply chain is obviously an important part of security.

Question: Does strengthening the domestic supply chain mean it must be UK companies, or can Chinese enterprises also invest?

Answer: I think it needs to be evaluated according to the specific situation of each project. For example, the energy - storage project mentioned earlier was invested by China Huaneng.

Question: This year, China's National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued a document on the full - scale market - based trading of new - energy electricity, proposing to establish a differential - settlement mechanism outside the market, which is similar to the UK's Contracts for Difference (CfD) mechanism. The UK has carried out six rounds of CfD auctions. What experience can be shared?

Answer: The CfD mechanism has been very successful in reducing the cost of offshore wind power. When we first started the CfD auctions, many well - known UK commentators also thought that offshore wind power could never compete with natural gas and fossil fuels. But now it is one of the most competitive technologies, with significantly reduced costs in design, construction and operation. The CfD mechanism has played an important role in promoting cost reduction. For new technologies, the situation may be more complicated. New technologies may need innovation funds more in the early stage, and the role of CfD may not be as obvious as in offshore wind power, where CfD significantly reduced costs at the right time. Currently, we are also evaluating some technical details of CfD, an important issue being the working mode of the budget system and the duration of CfD contracts. Currently, the contract term is 15 years, and we are exploring whether it is a suitable term for consumers. Generally speaking, CfD is a very effective mechanism, and we can also share knowledge and experience in this field for mutual benefit.