UK-EU Cooperation on Energy and Climate: Opportunities and Practical Solutions

As part of our Centre of Excellence work on Energy, the European Institute's Dr Claudia Sternberg and Prof. Michael Grubb and Dr Yarolsav Melekh, UCL Insitute of Sustainable Resources, teamed up with Bruegel to explore how the UK and EU could overcome inefficiencies in their energy trade and unblock enhanced cooperation in the energy and climate space. 

A public event was followed by a closed-door roundtable bringing together representatives of both sides and perspectives from government, diplomacy, civil service, industry, civil society advocacy, politics and academia, among others. 

This was the first engagement such engagement event in Brussels on UK-EU energy cooperation since Brexit.

Speakers

• Adam Berman, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Energy UK
• Michael Grubb, Professor of Energy and Climate Change, University College London
• Hazel Gulliver, Director of Engagement, ScottishPower, Iberdrola Group
• Karsten Neuhoff, Professor, Institute of Economics and Business Law, Technical University Berlin
• Ben McWilliams, Bruegel Affiliate fellow

Watch recording

Despite Brexit, the European Union and the United Kingdom remain deeply linked through energy trade and shared climate ambition. Strengthening energy and climate policy cooperation offers mutual benefit to the UK and EU and an opportunity for improving political relations. Given strong mutual interests and wider public motivation, energy and climate relationships have potential to give practical realisation to the wider talk about a “reset”.

In this spirit, Bruegel and University College London jointly hosted this event which looked to explore key opportunities in this space and how the EU and UK can practically pursue solutions. Areas for discussion included enhanced cooperation on electricity market trading to efficiently leverage the North Sea renewable opportunity, and solutions to minimise trade disruptions from carbon border tariffs (especially given unique complexities to attribute climate benefits when applied to electricity trade). Held in the aftermath of COP29, we also explored greater alignment on international efforts to advance climate diplomacy.

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Closed-door workshop

In a second step, a work shop operating under Chatham House rules invited an honest and probing discussion to explore avenues through which EU and UK energy and climate relationship might improve, and practical tools for doing so. Topics of discussion included 

• enhanced cooperation on electricity market trading to efficiently leverage the North Sea renewable opportunity.
• solutions to minimise trade disruptions from carbon border tariffs (especially concerning electricity trade).
• supply chain resilience amidst geopolitical uncertainty stemming both from the recent US elections and positioning on China (including EV tariffs).

The discussion centred upon practical solutions for how EU-UK cooperation could be improved, including a focus on priority items in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement signed by the EU and UK in May 2021, which sets out current terms of trade. Participants brought to the session ideas or concerns on elements of the TCA which should be prioritised for detailed implementation as opposed to political renegotiation, and how efforts at pursuing the two might be balanced. 

Links:

• Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence 2023-26
• Energy work package
• Bruegel 
• UCL Institute of Sustainable Resources

Image: Sailing ship Fridtjof Nansen (built 1919) in front of a modern offshore wind park close to Danish port of Gedser. By Mark König on Unsplash.