Donald Trump today piled pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to U-turn on North Sea oil and gas as he urged him to ‘drill, baby, drill’.
The US President took a swipe at the Prime Minister’s Net Zero goals as he suggested ramping up the production of fossil fuels would cut Brits’ energy bills.
He claimed that similar action in America had brought inflation ‘way down’ and left the US with a ‘very, very strong economy’.
As well as a commitment to reaching Net Zero by 2050, Sir Keir also wants to decarbonise the UK’s electricity grid by 2030.
The Government has pledged a permanent ban on fracking to extract natural gas, in line with Labour‘s general election manifesto.
Ministers have also vowed not to appove new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea.
But, speaking alongside the PM at a press conference this afternoon, Mr Trump delivered a withering verdict on switching to renewables.
He branded wind power a ‘disaster’ and ‘a very expensive joke’ as he spoke at Chequers, the PM’s grace-and-favour estate.
Donald Trump today piled pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to U-turn on North Sea oil and gas as he urged him to ‘drill, baby, drill’
The US President took a swipe at the Prime Minister’s Net Zero goals as he suggested ramping up the production of fossil fuels would cut Brits’ energy bills
Mr Trump branded wind power a ‘disaster’ and ‘a very expensive joke’ as he spoke at Chequers, the PM’s grace-and-favour estate
Taking questions at the end of his state visit to Britain, Mr Trump told reporters: ‘We inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country… and we had an expression that I used a lot: Drill, baby, drill.
‘We brought fuel way down, the prices way down. We don’t do wind because wind is a disaster, it’s a very expensive joke, frankly.
‘We got our energy prices way down, that brought the inflation way down and now we have very little inflation and we have a very, very strong economy.
‘So that was very important – drill, baby, drill – and you have a great asset here, we spoke about it, it’s called the North Sea. North Sea oil is phenomenal.’
He added: ‘I want this country to do well and you have great assets that you’re going to start using, I believe under this Prime Minister.’
Mr Trump made his intervention after Sir Keir had said he was ‘absolutely determined’ to cut energy prices, but the PM insisted this would be done through a ‘mix’ of renewables and fossil fuels.
‘I am absolutely determined to ensure the price and cost of energy comes down so that bills come down both for individuals, for families, with their households bills, but also for business,’ Sir Keir told the press conference.
‘The mix will include oil and gas for many years to come from the North Sea. We’ve been clear about that for some time.
‘But we also need to mix that with renewables and it’s the mix that’s really important.
‘The approach I’ve taken on this is the same approach that I take to many other things; a pragmatic approach.’
Commenting after Mr Trump and Sir Keir’s press conference, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said she was ‘not surprised’ the US President had been ‘so emphatic’ in his remarks.
She revealed it was ‘all we spoke about’ when she talked with Mr Trump at last night’s state banquet at Windsor Castle.
‘We have to get our oil and gas out of the North Sea,’ Mrs Badenoch posted on X/Twitter.
‘I’m serious about energy security cutting energy bills. We have to make the most of our natural resources. It’s mad to leave billions of £ in there.’
Sir Keir has this week been warned that his Net Zero goals could harm efforts to turn Britain into an AI ‘superpower’.
Jensen Huang, boss of chip giant Nvidia, said the huge amounts of energy needed for new AI infrastructure in the UK would likely require gas-fired power stations.
One expert also set out how just one data centre would need the equivalent of 4.5 gigawatts (GW) of power – as much electricity as used by three million homes.
Professor Gina Neff, AI professor at Queen Mary University London, said Britain doesn’t currently have enough power to run energy-guzzling data centres.
Responding to Mr Trump’s comments, Greenpeace UK’s head of climate, Mel Evans, said: ‘It’s funny that a man so full of hot air has such a big issue with wind.
‘Our North Sea wind turbines are currently generating over half of Britain’s power, meaning that every other light and microphone at that press conference is being powered by wind.
‘Keir Starmer would do well to ignore any energy advice given to him by a President funded by fossil fuel giants, and instead harness the huge economic, environmental and bill-saving benefits that cheaper, cleaner, more stable renewable power can bring.’
