The government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain finds itself in a quandary. It came to power promising to lead a clean energy boom that it said would revive a stagnant economy and protect consumers from energy price surges that were driving up inflation.
Yet it also seems wary of setting off a collapse of the oil and gas industry in the North Sea that sustains an estimated 120,000 mostly well-paid jobs and produces much of the natural gas that keep British businesses and homes humming.
Calls for school crackdowns have mounted with reports of cyberbullying among adolescents and studies indicating that smartphones, which offer round-the-clock distraction and social media access, have hindered academic instruction and the mental health of children.
“While we make that transition, the oil and gas industry will play an important role in the economy for decades to come,” Britain’s energy minister, Michael Shanks, said this year.
Already there is unease about a sharp slowdown in investment among energy companies and what strikes some as indifference on the part of Britain’s new government, led by the Labour Party, to the potential consequences.
Britain has “been a leader in offshore development,” said Gregor Scott, managing director of Ocean Installer, which does underwater work. “We won’t maintain that forever if there is a dwindling amount of work.”
In the coming months, the government will face a tricky balancing act of pursuing its clean energy agenda while supporting an industry that the country still relies on for energy and jobs.
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