LONDON: The British government announced plans on Friday to accelerate the development of nuclear power to meet its net zero and energy security targets, with the country heavily dependent on natural gas.

Britain has refocused on shoring up nuclear power since the start of the war in Ukraine, in the name of energy security, and faced with a fleet of aging power stations.

The outbreak of war in the Middle East at the end of last month has since sent oil and gas prices surging, adding fresh momentum to the government’s push to expand nuclear power.

“As the current Middle East conflict shows, we need to go further and faster to build the clean energy we need to get off volatile fossil fuel markets,” Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said in a statement.

The reforms aim to simplify regulation, including ove­­r­­hauling certain environmental assessments.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2026