The Met Office has issued an amber heat warning for an area of England encompassing London, the Midlands, and some of Yorkshire due to the heatwave.
This is in response to the latest in a series of heatwaves which have defined the British summer.
Yet despite these unprecedentedly high temperatures many politicians and journalists continue to lobby for an end to the government’s pursuit of a Net Zero energy sector.
The Minister of State for Energy Michael Shanks says it’s “unbelievable that there could still be people who right now look at what’s happening to fossil fuel markets, and say let’s just build more gas.”
Heatwave: How Hot Actually Is It?
Met Office data suggests that 2026 is on course to be the hottest recorded summer in British history, beating the record which was set only last year.
The average UK temperature between June 1st and August 10th this year was 16.48°C. This is 0.36°C higher than the average for last summer (June 1st to August 31st), and 0.78°C higher than the average temperature during the legendary summer of 1976.
In addition to this, 2026 has already seen more days over 30°C than any other year in British history and the first time the 35°C barrier has been broken in four different calendar months (May, June, July, and August).
Another clear indication of climate change is this summer’s extremely low rainfall. England and Wales experienced their driest July in recorded history, with over two thirds of England currently experiencing a drought.
As well as damaging British wildlife, persistent drought risks causing water shortages, and leaving people without vital resources.
What is the Government Doing?
The link between greenhouse gas emissions and rising global temperatures has long been known.
While this isn’t perfectly correlated with the UK’s weather conditions, higher average global temperatures increase the risk of abnormally warm and dry conditions throughout Northern Europe, as we have seen in the past two years.
Keir Starmer’s Labour government promised a “phased and responsible” transition away from fossil fuels. This forms part of the government’s target of reaching a state of Net Zero emissions (where all greenhouse gas emissions are offset by other pro-environmental activities) by 2050.
The former Prime Minister also oversaw the passing of the Great British Energy Act in May 2025. This established the publicly owned company Great British Energy with the aim of accelerating investment in renewable energy production.
Despite this, the House of Commons’ Climate Change Committee said that the government was “not moving fast enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions” in their June 2026 report.
“Energy policy doesn’t sit in isolation from wider economic and industrial policy” Michael Shanks told Dr Simon Evans, Deputy Editor and Senior Policy Editor at specialist climate-change publication Carbon Brief.
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“When we came in we obviously moved really quickly forward on the clean power mission” Shanks said when asked about factors delaying the transition to Net Zero.
“But every pound of public spending that is spent on building energy infrastructure should result in investment in communities.” Shanks added, implying that the Net Zero objective is being balanced against the government’s desires for economic growth, and investment in traditionally neglected areas.
The Criticisms of Net Zero
Research by Carbon Brief found that 63 editorials calling for the increased extraction of oil from the North Sea basin had been published between January and June this year. This is more than double than the 30 editorials calling for the same thing published throughout 2025.
A study by the Guardian also found that 72% of major newspapers’ coverage of the May and June heatwaves failed to mention climate change.
Both of these suggest there is an institutional unwillingness in the British press to acknowledge the clear link between energy policy, and the record-breaking temperatures the UK is currently experiencing.
The criticism of the government’s Net Zero policies has been particularly harsh.
The Times described pursuing Net Zero as “masochistic”, while The Sun suggested it could lead to a “full-blown energy crisis”. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has also likened Ed Miliband to a “Nigerian military dictator” for his support of Net Zero policies while Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero under Starmer.
Why We Can’t Rely on Oil
The Sun has claimed that if the government diverted Net Zero funding into drilling for oil in the North Sea basin, then the UK “might just have the cheapest electricity in the world”.
This fails to acknowledge that North Sea oil is not a public resource, and would therefore have to be purchased from private companies. This would most likely be at a similar market price to the one the UK currently pays when importing oil from nations such as Norway.
Another flaw in this strategy is the fact the North Sea is considered a “mature basin”, with roughly 90% of its oil already having been extracted, and production currently only 20% as high as it was in 1999.
The efficiency of non-renewable energy sources can also be damaged by the extreme heat which is becoming increasingly common.
Electric Insights, which monitor the proportion of energy UK consumers draw from different sources, have estimated that gas power stations lose 7% of their efficiency, and 13% of their capacity, when temperatures exceed 40°C.
In contrast, using a mix of renewable sources can improve the energy sector’s resilience to a range of different conditions.
“Heatwaves often bring still, but clear conditions” explains Chris Rosslowe, a senior energy analyst for Europe at Ember Energy, “but clear conditions highlight the benefit of wind and solar as a duo.”
The North Sea is also home to 14 wind farms, which, when combined with solar farms, can produce sustainable energy for far longer than a finite supply of North Sea Oil.
Final Thought
Net Zero is absolutely necessary to slowing the advancement of climate change, and protecting our current way of life.
Global problems require global solutions however, and it is tempting to rely on other nations to make the changes necessary to reduce global greenhouse emissions, while the UK prioritises short-term profitability.
The UK, as one of the world’s most advanced countries, and the first to industrialise, does however have a moral and logistical obligation to lead the way on climate issues.
A transition to renewable energy is inevitable, with or without a specific Net Zero target.
British newspapers must acknowledge the role of climate change in their reporting of extreme weather events, and end their obsession with North Sea oil, if they are going to remain relevant.
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