On its frontpage, the Financial Times covers comments by EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen that the bloc is assessing “all possibilities”, including fuel rationing and oil from emergency reserves, as it braces for a “long-lasting” energy shock from the Iran war. The article quotes Jørgensen saying: “This will be a long crisis…energy prices will be higher for a very long time.” He warns that for some more “critical” products “we expect it to be even worse in the weeks to come”. The Daily Express notes that the EU is not currently in a fuel crisis, but officials are “planning for the worst”. 

Relatedly, Reuters reports that five EU countries have called for a windfall tax on energy companies’ profits in response to rising fuel prices. It adds that the finance ministers from Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria have sent a letter to the EU Commission calling for an EU-wide tax. Bloomberg reports that in the letter the ministers argue that such a measure would “send a clear message that those who profit from the consequences of war must do their part to ease the burden on the general public”. Euractiv reports that Spanish economy minister Carlos Cuerpo has subsequently written on social media saying that the measure would “ease the burden on consumers and taxpayers”. The Associated Press notes that following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent “turmoil in energy markets”, the EU imposed a “solidarity contribution”, which included caps on excess energy profits. The Financial Times covers additional comments by Jørgensen, urging governments to avoid excessive support to offset surging energy prices. 

MORE ON EUROPE

• Reuters reports that France has announced tenders for seven offshore wind projects totaling 10 gigawatts, alongside smaller solar and onshore wind tenders. 
• BBC News covers questions around whether nuclear power could be “back in fashion as part of a home-grown European energy mix”.
• Bloomberg reports that the French prime minister Sebastien Lecornu has asked ministers to prepare measures to support drivers as fuel prices surge. 
• Bloomberg reports that Italy has set jet fuel limits at airports due to limited supplies amid the conflict in the Middle East. 
• Bloomberg reports that power prices in Poland “turned negative” on two consecutive days “as bright, windy weather sparked a surge in renewable electricity supplies”. 
• Reuters covers warnings from Spain’s wind industry that a proposed windfall tax on energy firms’ profits could curb investment in renewables. 

BBC News reports that oil prices saw “choppy trading” yesterday, following US president Donald Trump threatening critical infrastructure, such as energy plants and bridges, in Iran unless it allows ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz by tonight. Bloomberg reports that oil rose for a third day following the original posts, with Brent trading above $111. Reuters adds that Brent rose $1.74, or 1.6%, following Trump’s threats to rain “hell” on Tehran.

MORE ON IRAN WAR

• The Guardian looks at how the Iran war could make the world more reliant on coal, as countries consider “ramping up their use of dirty fuels”. 
• A frontpage story in the Daily Mirror details the profits made by energy firms and their bosses amid the Iran war, including the chief executives at Shell, BP, Cent­rica and Har­bour Energy. 
• The Guardian covers how the “worst polluters” are profiting from the Iran war.
• The Associated Press reports on how Iranians are bracing for potential US attacks on power plants.
• The Guardian covers calls from Labour MP and former government adviser Polly Billington that Keir Starmer should call an international energy summit, similar to that held during the 2008 financial crisis.

Reuters covers comments by Chinese president Xi Jinping in which he calls for “accelerated planning ‌and construction of a new energy system to safeguard the country’s energy security, weeks into the Iran war that has triggered global energy shocks”. The newswire adds: “The leader of the world’s second-largest economy also emphasised hydropower development and ecological protection, while urging the safe ​and orderly expansion of nuclear power, according to state broadcaster CCTV on Monday. ‘The Party Central Committee ​has gained a profound grasp of global energy development trends and made major decisions ⁠by advancing the new energy security strategy in depth,’ he said, referring to the ruling Communist Party’s ​centre of authority. Xi did not directly mention the war in his remarks cited by CCTV.”

The Guardian covers a new report that finds opening new oil and gas fields in the North Sea would make almost no difference to the UK’s reliance on gas imports. It adds that the Jackdaw field, one of the largest unexploited gas fields in the North Sea, would displace as little as 2% of current imports, according to analysis by campaign group Uplift, which compiled the data from public sources. The article continues that the Rosebank field, which contains mainly oil, would displace only about 1% of the UK’s gas imports. Meanwhile, the Financial Times covers a warning from more than 65 leading climate scientists against new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, urging the government to prioritise renewable energy in its response to the energy crisis. 

Relatedly, Sky News covers pushback from the government against speculation, first reported in the Times, that energy secretary Ed Miliband will approve drilling in new oil and gas fields. The Independent says that ministers have denied that a decision has already been made on North Sea gas fields, including the approval of the Jackdaw project. The Daily Telegraph claims that chancellor Rachel Reeves would be “very happy” to support new oil and gas extraction. 

Over the weekend, there were numerous articles in right-leaning newspapers speculating that Miliband could approve the Jackdaw project. The Daily Express claims that there is a “civil war” within the Labour party as Miliband faces increasing pressure to “green light to more oil and gas drilling”. The Daily Telegraph reports that Miliband is expected to block North Sea drilling, due to his “unwavering” opposition. The Mail on Sunday covers a poll that, it claims, suggests voters want the Labour party to lift its ban on drilling in the North Sea “to stop households being hammered by the cost of the Iran crisis”. [There is no ban on drilling in the North Sea; there is a ban on new oil and gas exploration licenses. It takes an estimated 28 years for new licenses allowing new oil and gas production, as noted in a recent Carbon Brief factcheck, therefore not providing “protection” to households from the current crisis.]

MORE ON NORTH SEA

• The climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph covers warnings from unions Unite and GMB that opposition to North Sea drilling will “cost the Labour party seats” in the upcoming election. 
• The Daily Telegraph covers a report from oil and gas trade body Offshore Energy UK, which found dozens of North Sea oil and gas fields have been “blocked from development by net-zero policies”.
• The Daily Telegraph reports that the government’s “cost of living champion” Lord Walker has urged chancellor Rachel Reeves to scrap a rise in fuel duty.
• The Press Association reports that “energy experts” have urged the government to approve the Jackdaw project in the North Sea. 
• The Daily Telegraph:  “The lost gas fields that could power Britain for decades.” 
• The Daily Telegraph covers analysis from investment bank Stifel that claims North Sea gas “saved the UK £2.5bn in 2025” due to avoided imports. 

Reuters covers the range of spending by various Asian governments on subsidies to help shield customers from the oil price increases. It lists steps being taken by countries such as Japan, where the government is “tapping” 800bn yen ($5.02bn) in reserve funds ​to finance subsidies to keep gasoline prices at 170 yen per litre. The article notes subsidies in South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and others. Similarly, the Guardian looks at a “day in the life of Asia’s fuel crisis”, presenting different diary accounts of how surging prices are impacting people in countries across the region.  

MORE ON ASIA

• Reuters covers an increase in diesel and petrol prices in Pakistan, the second such increase in less than a month.
• Reuters reports that India has capped monthly jet fuel price increases for domestic flights at 25%.
• The Guardian covers calls from Thailand’s prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, for the public to conserve energy by working from home and carpooling.
• BBC News explores the “multifaceted” energy shock in India. 
• Al Jazeera reports that Vietnam’s gig workers are being “slammed” by rising fuel costs.

The Los Angeles Times covers US president Donald Trump’s 2027 budget proposal, which includes targeting the “green new scam” via cuts to energy and environment programmes. It adds that the proposed cuts include $15bn for clean energy programs and around half of the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency. Bloomberg reports that the budget would continue “Trump’s attempts to dismantle much of his predecessor’s environmental agenda” and include redirecting spending from renewable energy to building fossil-fuel infrastructure and “energy-hungry artificial intelligence supercomputers for the Department of Energy”. The New York Times notes that, alongside targeting renewable energy, the budget proposal would include cuts to existing funds for battery manufacturing and carbon removal technologies. The Washington Post reports that the budget proposal also includes a record-breaking $1.5tn in spending for the Pentagon, which would be the largest defence budget in US history. 

MORE ON US

• The Financial Times reports that the sale of used EVs in the US has surged 12% in the first quarter of 2026, as petrol prices pass $4 a gallon. 
• Reuters reports that delayed power line projects could postpone the restart of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.
• Bloomberg reports that “skyrocketing gasoline prices” are fueling a push to weaken state climate laws around the US.

Reuters reports that renewable energy provided a record 52.5% of the UK’s electricity generation in 2025, according to new government data. It adds that record output from ​offshore wind, solar and bioenergy drove renewable generation to a record 152.5 terawatt hours, ⁠up 5.7% from 2024. The Press Association notes that nuclear generation hit a record low, which “nearly offset the growth in renewables”. It continues that fossil fuel generation increased by 2% from the record low seen in 2024, following reduced electricity imports. The Times adds that 2025 was the sunniest on record, helping solar to generate 7% of the country’s electricity. BusinessGreen reports that onshore and offshore wind generated a record 30% of the country’s electricity mix in 2025, up 4% from the previous year. [Carbon Brief published its own analysis of the UK’s energy mix in 2025 back in January.]

Separately, the Times explores how Great Britain’s grid could “soon” run without fossil fuels for the first time since 1882. A separate piece by Reuters covers a 2% drop in emissions in 2025, according to provisional government data. It adds that total greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to have been 367m metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (t CO2e) ​in 2025, down 7mtCO2e from 2024. [Carbon Brief published its own analysis of the UK’s emissions in 2025 last month.] The Daily Telegraph claims that net-zero policies have “failed” to reduce the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels, adding that the country was “forced to import more gas and electricity after the North Sea ban”. [Imports of oil and gas have grown because the North Sea is a mature basin with over 90% of reserves already used, as a recent Carbon Brief factcheck explains, and imports of electricity were up largely as a result of nuclear power falling by 12%.]

MORE ON UK

• The Times reports that EV charging firms will stop investing in the UK if the government “wavers” on its plan to end the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles. A related piece in the Times says that “soaring fuel prices” are “pushing people towards EVs”.  
• The Daily Mail reports that “rocketing fuel prices” have sparked new interest in EVs as charging costs “get cheaper”. 
• BBC News reports that the Conservative Party would scrap carbon taxes for industry, if it were elected. 
• Analysis in the Scotsman argues that, regardless of a recent government decision to block a Chinese wind turbine manufacturer from building a components factory in Scotland, the country’s “offshore wind sector would still be facing considerable difficulty”. 
• The Financial Times reports that UK pubs and restaurants could be forced to cut staff or reduce hours due to higher energy prices. Relatedly, the Guardian covers reports that small UK firms will see their energy bills more than double due to the Iran war. 
• The Daily Express reports that a new pay-per-mile tax for electric and hybrid vehicles has been confirmed and is due to start in April 2028.

The Guardian covers record high ocean temperatures off the southern coast of California, as researchers warn that high-pressure conditions could disrupt marine life and ecosystems. It continues that, over the last three months, several stations along the coast have repeatedly reported record-breaking daily high temperatures, including the La Jolla station registering temperatures a “full 10F” [5.5C] above the historical average. The article adds that the next few weeks are likely to determine whether the marine heatwave “fizzles out or evolves into something more Blob-like”, referring to “the blob”, a three year heatwave caused by similar prolonged high-pressure conditions a decade ago.

Relatedly, Le Monde reports that global surface waters are now nearly 0.5C warmer than the average estimate between 1993 and 2022, according to the European Copernicus program.

In the Indian Express, UNFCCC executive secretary Simon Stiell writes that continued reliance on fossil fuels will leave countries “forever lurching from crisis to crisis”. He writes that war in the Middle East has exposed the “brutal truth” that fossil-fuel dependency “rips away countries’ sovereignty and security”. Stiell pushes back against the suggestion that the current crisis means countries should slow their transitions to renewable energy, arguing “defies economic logic and basic common sense”. He continues to call for a faster shift to renewable energy, supported by modern grids and used together with clean technologies like EVs. Stiell concludes: “Today’s turmoil underscores the urgency of this work. Climate cooperation is a cure for the chaos of this moment. Clean energy and climate resilience are essential, not despite global instability, but because of it.” 

MORE COMMENT

• In the Guardian, foreign correspondent Zoe Daniel writes that “every extra EV on an Australian road is litres of petrol saved, every home battery means less gas used and a more resilient electricity grid”.
• In the Hindustan Times, former secretary for power in the government of India Alok Kumar, explores why India should fast-track renewable energy.
• In Le Monde, economist Patrice Geoffron writes that Trump is “unwittingly, but significantly, advancing the energy transition”. 
• In the Financial Times, writer and investor Ruchir Sharma explores why this oil shock is “different to others”. 
• In the Financial Times, member of the executive board of the European Central Bank, Frank Elderson, looks at how “Europe’s fossil fuel dependence poses risks to price stability”.

In the Guardian, Bill McGuire, a professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at UCL, calls on the UK government to “hold its nerve” in the face of calls for expansion of North Sea oil and gas drilling. He writes that the “usual suspects” have used the Iran war as an “excuse to renew demands that the North Sea be sucked dry of its remaining oil and gas, in order – they say – to end reliance on fossil-fuel imports and to guarantee energy security”. He continues that the “climate emergency is continuing”, even as “eyes turn to the Gulf and the war”. McGuire adds: “While we continue to dither about the rights and wrongs of reopening the North Sea to further drilling, global heating shows no such tendency.” In a separate piece in the Guardian, columnist Larry Elliott argues that “going big on renewable sources of energy is obviously part of that story” of responding to the Iran war. In the Financial Times, associate editor and columnist Stephen Bush argues that the UK “is turning the energy crisis into a political mess”. 

Relatedly, there have been numerous pieces in the UK’s right-leaning newspapers calling for additional drilling in the North Sea. An editorial in the print edition of the climate-sceptic Daily Mail argues that an “obvious way” the UK can build its energy security is by “taking the shackles off North Sea oil and gas”. Also in the Daily Mail, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch writes that “we must get out oil and gas out of the ground”, as part of her party’s continued push for increasing North Sea drilling. Also in the Daily Mail, Richard Tice, the climate-sceptic deputy leader of the hard-right Reform party, writes that it is “our patriotic duty to tap all our oil and gas reserves”. The Daily Express publishes two comment pieces focusing on Miliband. An editorial in the Times argues that chancellor Rachel Reeves “finally recognises the logic of North Sea exploitation”. The Times also has two comment pieces making the “unarguable” “case for developing oil and gas in North Sea”. The climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph also has a range of comment pieces, claiming that: high oil prices “do not strengthen the case for net-zero” in the UK; that the country is paying the price for “decades of energy self-harm”; the “peril of Miliband’s net-zero intransigence”. Finally, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard writes in the Daily Telegraph that “Britain is safe” from the worst of the Iran war energy crisis impacts due, in part, to the “dash for wind and solar”.

MORE UK COMMENT

• In the Times, Martin Pibworth, chief executive of SSE, writes that “electrification is the way forward” to provide energy security in the UK. 
• In the Times, economist Gerard Lyons looks at how the current energy crisis differs from those before.
• An editorial in the climate-sceptic Sun criticises the UK Labour party’s “fuel duty hypocrisy” amid surging petrol prices driven by the Iran war. 
• In the Daily Telegraph, columnist David Stevenson explores the “investment gems hidden in Britain’s net zero-drive”. 
• A letter in the Guardian from Rev Dr Darrell Hannah, chair of Operation Noah, pushes back against GB News owner Paul Marshall’s previous rebuttal to criticism by Christian leaders of his climate scepticism in the publication. [The original claims were factchecked by Carbon Brief’s Dr Simon Evans.]
• In the Financial Times, economics commentator Chris Giles argues that the UK’s energy vulnerability “stems from history and geography rather than failed policies”.

This edition of the Daily Briefing was written by Molly Lempriere, with contributions from Daisy Dunne. It was edited by Leo Hickman.

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