32 Saying yes

Because Britain currently gets 90% of its energy from fossil fuels, got roughly 90% of its energy from fossil fuels when this was written, and still gets roughly 75% of its total energy from them today — the progress is real but lopsided: fossil fuels' share of UK electricity has fallen much further, to about 32%, while heating and transport have barely started to move, ¹ it’s no surprise that getting off fossil fuels requires big, big changes – a total change in the transport fleet; a complete change of most building heating systems; and a 10- or 20-fold increase in green power.

Given the general tendency of the public to say "no" to wind farms, "no" to nuclear power, "no" to tidal barrages – "no" to anything other than fossil fuel power systems – I am worried that we won’t actually get off fossil fuels when we need to. Instead, we’ll settle for half-measures: slightly-more-efficient fossil-fuel power stations, cars, and home heating systems; a fig-leaf of a carbon trading system; a sprinkling of wind turbines; an inadequate number of nuclear power stations.

We need to choose a plan that adds up. It is possible to make a plan that adds up, but it’s not going to be easy.

We need to stop saying no and start saying yes. We need to stop the Punch and Judy show and get building.

If you would like an honest, realistic energy policy that adds up, please tell all your political representatives and prospective political candidates.

Updates, 2026

Footnotes

1. UK fossil fuel share. Fossil fuels supplied roughly 74.7% of UK primary energy consumption in 2024, down from ~90% in the mid-2000s. Fossil fuels' share of UK electricity generation fell much further and faster, to 31.8% in 2024 (a record low), because electricity is where the wind and solar buildout actually happened; heating and transport remain far more fossil-dependent. Source: DESNZ, Energy Consumption in the UK 2025 (data to 2024); Carbon Brief analysis of 2024 generation data. ↩