US-Iran War Drives Oil and Gas Price Surge, UK Accelerates Clean Energy Push

LONDON (CNA) – Amidst the US-Iran war driving up oil and gas prices, the British government today announced it would accelerate its clean energy plan. According to Agence France-Presse, UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband will later deliver a speech further explaining related measures, including a plan to promote "large-scale renewable energy development" on government land. A Labour government statement indicated that installing solar panels and wind turbines in industrial areas and on railway land is expected to provide electricity for approximately 5 million households. The government also proposed accelerating the development of domestic clean energy through further reforms to the "planning, land acquisition, and grid connection processes." Furthermore, the government hopes to make it easier for the public to switch to lower-cost electric vehicles and electric heating systems. Ahead of local elections next month, Miliband will criticize the opposition party's stance, which advocates for a new round of exploration activities in the North Sea in response to reduced oil and gas supplies due to the Middle East conflict. According to excerpts of the speech received by the media in advance, Miliband will emphasize: "Even before the outbreak of the Iran war, we had already seen record high demand for technologies such as rooftop solar, batteries, heat pumps, and electric vehicles." Since British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took office nearly two years ago, his government has focused on driving the UK economy with clean energy, but the British economy has not yet shown significant signs of taking off. The UK aims to use zero-carbon electricity by 2030 and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to combat climate change. (Compiler: Hung Pei-ying) 1150421 Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship is a force to protect press freedom. Download CNA's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated. The text, images, and audio-visual content on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.