UK Looks To Woo Investors Impacted by Trump Tariffs

The U.K. Labour government has introduced several policies aimed at advancing the country’s green transition since coming into power last July. New climate and green energy policies, coupled with higher levels of national funding for renewables, are helping to attract billions in private investment. The government now aims to use the current geopolitical situation with the United States to encourage even more financing for energy projects.

The U.K. government hopes to attract green investors to the country as they look for alternative places to put their money following the introduction of sweeping tariffs by the U.S., as well as President Donald Trump’sattack on green energy. It is offering cash and infrastructure improvements to companies looking to establish manufacturing plants and supply chains. The government announced plans to bring forward $399.4 million in funding for offshore wind farms, in which the U.K. is a world leader, and invited banks and several international companies to a 60-country summit in London this week. The country’s energy secretary Ed Miliband also wrote to a host of international investors stressing the U.K.’s commitment to a green transition and achieving low-carbon electricity by 2030.

One government source said, “We are looking at opportunities all over the world to attract clean energy investment and are setting up conversations with companies from all countries, to ensure the U.K. can be a winner in the global race for the clean industries of the future.”

The introduction of far-reaching climate policies, as well as green energy and clean tech funding, is helping the U.K. to become highly competitive at a global level, much in the same way as was seen in the U.S. when the Biden administration introduced the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. President Trump’s pro-fossil fuel approach and anti-renewable energy development stance has left a gap in the market, which the U.K. hopes to fill. The Labour government now aims to attract companies that were previously looking to invest in the U.S. to Britain.

In April, the U.S. government announced it would be halting work on a new wind farm off the coast near New York, operated by the Norwegian company Equinor. This is just one of several pauses on green energy projects and funding cuts announced by the Trump administration in recent weeks. The move is expected to make investors more wary of financing U.S. renewable energy projects.

On Thursday, U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer announced at an energy summit that Britain planned to go “all out” for a low-carbon future and accelerate the green transition to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. Starmer told a conference in London of more than 60 countries, including the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the U.S. senior energy official, Tommy Joyce, that combatting the climate crisis and booting energy security were “in the DNA of my government”.

“This government is acting now, with a muscular industrial policy, to seize the opportunities [in low-carbon technology] to boost investment, build new industries, drive UK competitiveness, and unlock export opportunities. That is the change we need. We won’t wait – we will accelerate,” Starmer said at the conference.

“We’re paying the price for our over-exposure, over many years, to the rollercoaster of international fossil fuel markets, leaving the economy and therefore people’s household budgets, vulnerable to the whims of dictators like Putin… It’s our determination that working people should not be exposed like this anymore,” the Prime Minister said. Increasing renewable energy production would “make energy a source not of vulnerability, but of strength. We will protect our critical infrastructure, energy networks and supply chains, and do whatever it takes to protect the security of our people. Energy security is national security,” he added.

Despite announcing several ambitious new energy projects, the Labour government has been criticised for backtracking on its energy and climate pledges in recent months, with the chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves re-examining spending commitments on low-carbon infrastructure, and other policies appearing to be watered down. However, Starmer’s speech this week seems to demonstrate the U.K.’s commitment to a green transition as the government seeks to take advantage of the current geopolitical situation.

Von der Leyen echoed Starmer’s opinion, saying, “As our energy dependency on fossil fuels goes down, our energy security goes up. That is the lesson we have learnt in Europe.” However, not everyone was convinced. The acting assistant secretary in the office for international affairs in the US Department of Energy, Tommy Joyce, said, “When and where energy is scarce or restricted, humans suffer. Unfortunately, the focus during the last administration was on climate politics and policies, leading to that scarcity. These policies have been embraced by many, not just the U.S., and harm human lives.”