WindEurope and RenewableUK have joined more than 30 companies and industry organisations in a joint letter calling on the European Union and the United Kingdom to deepen their energy partnership. The signatories argue that closer cooperation would lower electricity bills, strengthen energy security and speed up clean power development across Europe. The letter was published ahead of the EU–UK summit in Brussels on 20 November.
A central request concerns carbon markets. An announcement on linking the UK and EU Emissions Trading Systems (ETS) is expected at the summit. The letter welcomes the move and asks for a clear implementation timetable, as well as swift mutual exemptions from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which puts a carbon price on imported goods. According to the signatories, a linked carbon market would be larger and more integrated, support cleaner electricity trade and avoid unnecessary costs for the energy sector.
The organisations also back the ongoing talks on future electricity trading arrangements. They call for a pragmatic approach that would let both sides make greater use of interconnectors, share power generated in the North Sea more efficiently and reduce system costs. They welcome UK–EU collaboration within the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) and urge both parties to deepen it ahead of the next North Sea Summit in 2028, and to treat the UK as a trusted partner in clean technology and grid supply chains.
“As the world is becoming more divided, Europe must become more connected,” said WindEurope CEO Tinne Van der Straeten. “Homegrown renewables and electrification are the first lines of defence against an increasingly uncertain global energy market.” She added that both sides would benefit from stronger cooperation, “starting with the UK again becoming a full member of the North Seas Energy Cooperation”.
RenewableUK CEO Tara Singh said linking the two ETS would make it easier and cheaper to trade clean electricity, while better use of interconnectors would strengthen energy security and reduce exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices. She pointed to the 2,000 supply chain companies and 55,000 people already working in UK wind.
For the Baltic Sea region, the debate matters beyond the North Sea. Interconnector rules, carbon pricing at the EU border and access to a shared offshore supply chain all shape the cost of building wind capacity in Poland, Germany, Denmark and the Baltic states, where developers compete for the same vessels, cables and turbine components as North Sea projects.
