Why Net Zero Is Failing Britain

Lord Frost, IEA Director General, joins energy analyst Kathryn Porter, author of the IEA’s landmark new report “Just Stop Oil?”, for a wide-ranging discussion on why oil and gas remain indispensable to modern life. Porter argues that the entire premise of the “just stop oil” movement is born from privilege, ignoring the fundamental role hydrocarbons play in medicine, agriculture, and technology. From hospitals built on petrochemicals to Sri Lanka’s fertiliser disaster, the case against abandoning fossil fuels is forensically made.The conversation shifts to Britain’s North Sea, where both speakers argue the Government is actively sabotaging a domestic resource. Porter warns that without domestic extraction, Britain will simply pay Norway to sell its own oil and gas back to it, while importing higher-carbon hydrocarbons from elsewhere at a net fiscal loss. Frost reflects on why this “collective madness” has gripped Western governments simultaneously, and what forces may finally be turning the tide.Rounding off the discussion, Porter outlines a looming gas supply crisis, the fragility of energy interconnectors with Europe, and why energy nationalism is not just predictable but legally and politically inevitable. Both speakers see signs of a shifting debate, with the IEA’s own research receiving greater media traction than ever before. The supertanker, they suggest, may finally be beginning to turn.The Institute of Economic Affairs is a registered educational charity. It does not endorse or give support for any political party in the UK or elsewhere. Our mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.The views represented here are those of the speakers alone, not those of the Institute, its Managing Trustees, Academic Advisory Council members or senior staff. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit insider.iea.org.uk/subscribe