UK dependence on foreign oil to increase by 800%

We are all confronted by the reality of climate change, with its threats of economic, social and environmental turmoil. At the same time the world is becoming ever more dependent on oil, worsening this looming crisis.

The depletion of North Sea oil also means the UK is increasingly dependent on oil supplies from areas of conflict, particularly the Middle East.

Britain's dependence on foreign oil is set to grow eight-fold by 2030. Analysis by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) predicts that under a business-as-usual model Britain will require 56 million tonnes of imported oil every year by 2030. Currently we import seven million tonnes annually.

Reducing our oil dependence and tackling climate change are two sides of the same coin  and key to building real global security.

Global security is a long-term project - we must emsure that the social and environmental injustices that lead to conflict cannot take hold. Failing to act on this vision and allowing oil demand to continue to rise would mean increasing global insecurity as climate change intensifies and conflicts develop, especially over easily accessible Middle Eastern oil supplies.

Meeting the double challenge of climate change and energy security takes political leadership and vision, both nationally and internationally. It takes diplomacy and cooperation. On a national level, it takes investment in a long-term energy strategy, including reducing oil use to combat climate change and improve energy security.

There are practical and realistic steps that can be taken to curtail oil use in transport. A range of scenarios is examined on a 20-30 year timescale. The IEEP calculates that with simple transport efficiency measures Britain's dependence on foreign oil can be restricted from an eight-fold increase to a two-fold increase. Oil use could be reduced by developing:

• Vehicles that are more fuel-efficient
  
• The use of alternative transport fuels
  
• A more efficient transport system, ensuring that people and goods are transported in a way that minimises fuel use
  
• Reducing overall travel by road pricing, congestion charging and more home working

The UK government faces a choice.

It can continue to allow oil consumption to grow, pursuing energy security through aggressive diplomacy and funding further power projection forces (including current plans to build the largest aircraft carriers outside the US and to buy new nuclear weapons to replace Trident at enormous cost).

Or the UK can take an international lead by reducing our dependence on oil and switching support to clean energy alternatives, particularly energy efficient transport.

To find out more:

Download the Greenpeace briefing Oil and Peace don't mix

Or read the IEEP's report Over a Barrel.