Energy bills could jump by more than a quarter in January, adding about £460 extra a year for the typical UK household according to forecasts from British Gas, EDF and E.ON.
That price surge stems from a conflict thousands of miles away. This marks the second time in four years that overseas warfare has impacted British energy costs, the BBC reports.
US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February closed the Strait of Hormuz, causing oil and gas prices to soar. Winter demand will likely push costs higher still, as European winter gas stores are at their lowest levels since records began in 2011.
Superpower Rivalry at COP31
At the COP31 UN climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, world leaders face a tension: cutting carbon emissions while keeping energy bills affordable. Energy and climate policy has become the front line in a contest between the world’s two energy superpowers, leaving other nations squeezed in the middle, the BBC notes.
America bets on fossil-fuel molecules by pumping record volumes of oil and gas, pressing allies to buy them. China bets on electrons, flooding the market with solar panels, batteries and electric cars designed to replace those fossil fuels, according to the BBC.
The UK Position
The UK buys nearly a quarter of its imported gas from America and much of its clean energy equipment from China. The nation is pulled in both directions. The outcome of this bet between fossil fuels and renewables will shape global energy prices and the speed of emissions cuts, the BBC reports.
