Fahnbulleh appointed UK energy secretary as North Sea drilling pressure mounts

Miatta Fahnbulleh has been appointed as the UK’s Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, succeeding Ed Miliband in a move that signals a continuation of the government’s decarbonisation agenda. The Member of Parliament for Peckham, the only MP from the 2024 intake to secure a full cabinet position, assumes the role amid intense pressure from environmental groups to reject new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.

In her first 48 hours in office, Fahnbulleh faced demonstrations by Fossil Free London outside the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Protesters dressed as firefighters held placards reading: “We’re already putting out fires, don’t start new ones,” demanding the scrapping of all new drilling applications. The immediate controversy centres on the Jackdaw and Rosebank fields off the north-east coast of Scotland, where applications were lodged before Labour took office and are therefore not covered by the government’s ban on new North Sea drilling licences.

Fahnbulleh’s economic background has drawn scrutiny regarding her stance on fossil fuel extraction. From 2017 to 2023, she led the New Economics Foundation (NEF), a thinktank widely considered a bible for radical economic thinking. In a 2021 joint report with Friends of the Earth, the NEF called for a total end to new drilling in the North Sea basin, the cancellation of all future licensing rounds, and the rejection of any applications for development consent.

Sources close to Fahnbulleh indicate she possesses the economic expertise to challenge claims that increased fossil fuel extraction is necessary for UK energy resilience. Tessa Khan, executive director of the campaign group Uplift, emphasised that burning reserves in existing fields would breach the 1.5C climate limit. Meanwhile, Laura Clarke, CEO of ClientEarth, described Fahnbulleh as an excellent appointment with real expertise in both energy and its economics.

Born in Liberia in 1979, Fahnbulleh arrived in the UK as an asylum seeker at age six, fleeing the first Liberian civil war. She studied PPE at Oxford University and holds an MA and PhD in economic development from the London School of Economics. Her political career includes serving as Ed Miliband’s deputy at DESNZ and as a minister at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, before she resigned in May following Labour’s local election results, citing a lack of vision and pace in government action.

The appointment occurs as the UK emerges from three unprecedented heatwaves that broke climate records and caused wildfires. While speculation exists within Westminster that figures such as Andy Burnham may support new drilling for energy resilience, Fahnbulleh’s radical economic background and previous advocacy suggest a firm commitment to the transition away from fossil fuels. Her predecessor, Ed Miliband, has previously described the Rosebank licence as “climate vandalism” and may be relieved to have the decision passed to his successor.

Imogen Dow, energy lead for Friends of the Earth, stated that Fahnbulleh must hold the line against harmful fossil fuel expansion and build on Miliband’s efforts to scale up renewable power capacity. As the first minister to resign after the May local elections, Fahnbulleh has demonstrated a willingness to act on her principles, telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer that the government had not acted with the ambition its mandate demanded.