P4P hosts climate and security roundtable

Baroness Kathy Willis, Chair of Peers for the Planet, together with Systemiq and the University of Oxford, hosted a roundtable in the House of Lords on UK energy security and economic resilience.

The discussion built on the Resilience Agenda, a joint initiative between Systemiq and the University of Oxford that explores how security, climate and competitiveness challenges are strategically interconnected and must be addressed together.

More than 40 senior leaders from government, finance, energy, academia and civil society joined the discussion, examining how the UK can build genuine energy security while maintaining affordability in an increasingly volatile world.

The event marked the UK launch of two publications on the Resilience Agenda:

• The Resilience Agenda – a concise white paper setting out seven strategic priorities.

• The Resilience Nexus – a comprehensive research report underpinning the agenda, featuring a foreword by Baroness Kathy Willis.

The report argues that the perceived trade-off between security, climate action and economic competitiveness is a false trilemma. Europe is warming at twice the global average rate, with heatwaves, droughts, floods and infrastructure disruptions increasingly affecting economies and critical supply chains.

It concludes that a Europe focused solely on rearmament, without simultaneously investing in the energy, materials and food transitions required for long-term resilience, and adapting to the climate change already locked in, will remain exposed to growing economic and security risks.

The opportunity ahead is to design and invest in capabilities, value chains and economies that reinforce our shared ambitions across security, climate and competitiveness. The energy transition is a prime example: domestic renewable power, robust grids, storage, and energy efficiency strengthen energy security and economic competitiveness while cutting emissions. Bringing nature into the equation by protecting and restoring our natural world is another great example. Investing in our “natural defences” will enhance the functioning of critical systems such as food and water, scale natural carbon sinks to absorb more emissions, and increase our resilience to climate impacts such as heat stress and flooding. Baroness Kathy Willis