In a piece of news that flew under the radar, the Great British Energy Bill recently passed through Parliament and received royal assent. With £8.3 billion committed to a new state-owned company, Great British Energy, and a mandate to accelerate the clean power transition, the government is making good on its manifesto pledge to turn Britain into a “clean energy superpower.”
But amid the excitement, one must ask – is it too late?
The climate crisis is no longer a distant forecast; it’s here, reshaping our lives in real time. The country is currently on track for the driest spring in over a century, with some areas experiencing 20 consecutive days without rain. Reservoirs are visibly lower, sunshine levels are breaking records, and a summer drought now poses a “medium” risk, according to the Environment Agency.
Drought isn’t the only concern. A recent report from the Climate Change Committee paints a stark picture of a country dangerously underprepared for the consequences of climate change that are already unfolding. From rail lines buckling in heatwaves to hospitals overheating and farmland flooding, the country ’s infrastructure is straining under the pressure of extreme weather. By 2050, one in four homes is projected to be at risk of flooding.
In this context, the Great British Energy Bill isn’t just necessary – it’s long overdue.
The truth is, the country has lost valuable time. Over the past few decades, climate policy has been inconsistent at best and obstructive at worst. From cuts to renewable energy subsidies to delays in upgrading grid infrastructure and improving home energy efficiency, successive governments have failed to match their climate rhetoric with sustained delivery. While the 2008 Climate Change Act established a legal framework for reducing emissions, real-world progress has been slow, fragmented, and often without sufficient state backing.
That’s why the Great British Energy Bill represents a crucial shift. Public ownership in the energy sector is no longer a fringe idea, but a strategic necessity. In sectors where private risk is high and returns are long-term, government intervention is often the only viable path forward.
The company’s early pledges are encouraging – £200 million for rooftop solar on schools and hospitals, £300 million to boost offshore wind supply chains, and £4 million to support community energy projects in Scotland. These are small but meaningful steps toward a new model of climate action – one rooted in public purpose and local impact.
There’s also political significance here. With GB Energy headquartered in Aberdeen and plans for a new energy campus, the government is signalling that the transition must include the traditionally overlooked regions and devolved nations. Local authorities and communities will play a key role, not just as stakeholders, but as co-creators of clean energy solutions tailored to local needs.
There is, however, a long road ahead. The planning system remains a major bottleneck for deploying infrastructure at speed. The grid is stretched, and despite previous cross-party consensus on accelerating the transition, momentum risks being slowed by emerging political resistance in some areas. Meanwhile, the green economy is suffering from a shortage of skilled labour. Addressing these issues will require more than one bill or one company. It demands long-term coordination across sectors, more flexible governance, and a rethink of how the country aligns planning, energy, and industrial strategy.
This brings us to a deeper, more uncomfortable truth – the time for early action has passed. Now, we’re racing to avoid worst-case outcomes. The effects of climate change are no longer theoretical. They are visible, measurable, and worsening. Floods, heatwaves, droughts – these are no longer once-in-a-decade events, but features of a new normal. Britain is already in the grip of a changing climate.
The latest global data only underscores this urgency. According to the European Copernicus climate service, 2024 was the first calendar year where global temperatures surpassed 1.5 Degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, making it the hottest year on record. While this doesn’t officially breach the Paris Agreement threshold, it signals how perilously close we are to crossing a line many hoped we’d never reach.
The longer we delay action, the harder and more expensive it becomes to course correct. Every missed target, every shelved policy, every year of underinvestment will only exacerbate the challenge ahead. The longer we wait, the fewer choices we’ll have.
And yet, hope remains.
The Great British Energy Bill is a reminder that political choices still matter, and that bold, values-driven policy isn’t only possible, but popular. It also reminds us that we already have many of the tools we need: offshore wind, solar, battery storage, heat pumps, green hydrogen. What we’ve lacked – until now – is the political will and institutional capacity to deploy them at scale. The government must lead where markets have stalled, and communities must be empowered to shape their own energy futures. If done right, Great British Energy can be more than a headline. It can be a turning point.
So, is it too late to solve the climate crisis? No. But it is late. What happens next will define not just our energy future, but the kind of country we want to inhabit.
by Sukhpal Garcha, Senior Account Executive (Public Affairs)