The UK seeks to reduce dependence on fossil energy

What measures has the UK devised to reduce its dependence on fossil energy?

What was the purpose of the G7 summit last month?

What are the harms of cutting off energy imports from Russia to Europe?

What steps is the UK taking to punish Moscow for invading Ukraine?

The UK Plans to build several nuclear power plants to reduce its dependence on fossil energy & Russia Energy following its invasion of Ukraine.

Indigenous energy expansion on the UK agenda

British Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng told the Sunday Telegraph that the country could build at least seven new nuclear power plants as part of a plan to expand indigenous energy. Referring to UK’s plan for the next few decades, Kwarteng added that six or seven nuclear sites will be launched in the UK by 2050. The UK Cabinet of Ministers agreed to hand over the nuclear power plants to the private sector. UK’s new energy security strategy, due in the next few days, will likely commit the UK government to support the construction of at least two large-scale nuclear power plants, as well as several small reactors, by 2030.

Reducing dependence on fossil energy in Europe

Following Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, European countries plan to reduce their oil and gas dependence on Moscow and put domestic energy development programs on their agenda. Kwarteng’s comments come as some countries, including the UK, pledged at the Glasgow Climate Summit last November to replace fossil and nuclear energy with renewable and clean energy, following UK’s decision to build nuclear power plants. It’s a breach of commitment at last year’s climate summit.

Extraordinary Summit of Group 7 countries

The G7 countries met last month to discuss ways to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas. The UK has announced that it will stop importing oil and oil products from Russia by the end of 2022, and is also considering cutting off natural gas imports from Russia. The British Chancellor of the Exchequer has said that joining other countries, such as the US, to cut off gas imports could put more pressure on Russia. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has emphasized that the extraordinary meeting of the Ministers of fossil Energy is about further consideration to take further steps to impose sanctions and also to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas.

Europe at risk of import cuts

Experts say the US imports 3 per cent and the UK about 8 percent of its oil from Russia, and a ban on imports is a show, but half of Russia’s oil goes to Europe, where they are more exposed to cut-off damage. The G7 is the economic minister of seven industrialized countries. The summit was convened in 1975 with the participation of six countries: Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US. Canada then joined the group.

The UK seeks to punish Russia

UK will suspend imports of oil products from Russia by the end of 2022 to punish Moscow for invading Ukraine, joining other countries, including the US. In response to the global response to the Russia-Ukraine war, the UK and other countries are looking for ways to deprive Moscow of its revenue and seek to reduce energy imports from Russia with greater self-sufficiency. The British Minister for Commerce, Kwasi Kwarteng, said the UK was also considering options to end gas imports from Russia, which account for only about 4% of the country’s total gas imports.

International economic sanctions against Russia

“In another economic blow to the (Vladimir) Putin regime following their illegal invasion of Ukraine, the UK will move away from dependence on Russian oil throughout this year, building on our severe package of international economic sanctions,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement. It is done with international economic sanctions. He added: “Working with industry, we are confident that this can be achieved over the year, providing enough time for companies to adjust and ensuring consumers are protected.” The European Commission has also announced plans to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian gas by two-thirds this year and end the EU’s dependence on Russian fuel supply by 2030. In retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden also banned fossil energy imports from Russia in retaliation for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, stressing the support of both US parties for the move. 

British dependence on Russian money

The media believe that the government is dependent on Russian money in the UK. The Independent writes that after the Russian army entered Ukraine, the UK government imposed sanctions on five banks and three wealthy Russian citizens, most of whom were previously on the US sanctions list. The British sanctions against Russia are certainly not commensurate with the scale of Russia’s military action in violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty. 

There is disagreement in the government about the size of sanctions against Russia, and several ministers believe that small sanctions should be content for now so that more sanctions can be imposed in the future if Russia invades Ukraine. The cabinet does not yet know Putin’s true intentions. The Independent added that Putin had little effect on attacking Georgia in 2008 and occupied the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine in 2013, but that did not prevent him from hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Money laundering of the rich Russians in the UK

The chemical attacks in Syria also met with passivity from Barack Obama and David Cameron, and Putin won. Putin doesn’t have voters to do anything to welcome them, nor is he worried about a terrible war in Ukraine. Actions against Moscow should have started a long time ago, and the same will happen with China in the future. The media wrote that if Germany terminates the 10 billion euro contract with Russia by revoking the license to operate the Stream 2 gas pipeline, the UK will have to get rid of Russian money. London isn’t the best place for Russian money, but the rich Russians prefer to bring their money into the UK for money laundering and tax evasion because other European governments do not allow it.

The experience of decades of sanctions against Iraq showed that the children of that country were deprived of health services, but Saddam Hussein was not overthrown. Even now, economic sanctions will hurt the Russian people, but will not affect Russian leaders. Putin is now showing the world that he can’t be ignored. European leaders should seek to reduce Russia’s dependence on fossil energy, as the best way to punish Putin in the current situation is to cut off energy imports from Russia.