A report published by the Global Sustainability Institute has warned that Britain will run out of oil, coal and gas in just over five years, which would increase a dependency on countries with higher stocks, such as Norway, Qatar and Russia.
Whilst the report points out that Russia has over 50 years of oil, more than 100 years of gas and over 500 years worth of coal supplies left, Britain has just 5.2 years of oil, 4.5 years of coal and three years of its own gas left. France appears to be in a worse position, as it is predicted the country has less than a year of its own supplies of fossil fuel remaining.
Dr Aled Jones, director of the Global Sustainability Institute, warned that the "EU is becoming ever more reliant on our resource-rich neighbours such as Russia and Norway, and this trend will only continue unless decisive action is taken." As a result, Professor Victor Anderson of the Institute has called for a drive, across Europe, towards renewable energies such as wind, tidal and solar.
However, some remain sceptical of the findings. Jim Skea, Research Councils fellow in UK Energy Strategy, said of the findings in the report, "This sounds very unlikely. What's more, it's irrelevant - the UK has a stable supply of imported energy, even if it is a good idea to increase our own supplies."
In addition, it remains to be seen whether there will be further investment in renewable energy. The Government recently announced that it was cutting subsidies for large-scale solar energy, whilst the Conservative party have said there will be no funding for new onshore wind farms should they win the next election.
