The energy sector plays a crucial role in greening the economy. Green energy contributes to energy security and independence, unlike imported fossil fuels. Nuclear power, for example, will play an important role in carbon-fee energy sectors of the future. The UK’s Energy Security Strategy, published earlier this year, pledges to significantly accelerate the UK’s production of nuclear power.

Nuclear power is one of the safest forms of energy generation, but the harnessing of nuclear power requires the utmost diligence and precaution. Yet as we sit here, the largest nuclear power station in Europe risks becoming the next Chernobyl disaster because of the reckless behaviour of the Russian military.

Since the start of Russia’s invasion, nuclear facilities in Ukraine have been struck by military ordnance on at least four occasions and at least five Ukrainian nuclear facilities have experienced significant disruptions to their normal operations. As the IAEA’s Director General said in June, of the seven pillars of nuclear safety and security, almost all have been violated by Russia’s actions.

Another area of energy sectors’ future is critical minerals. We need lithium, cobalt and graphite to make batteries for electric cars; silicon and tin for our electronics; and rare earth elements for wind turbines. The UK’s first ever Critical Minerals Strategy commits us to collaborating with international partners; and enhancing international markets to make them more responsive, transparent and responsible.

Finally, we call on Russia to stop its weaponisation of energy, which is having a destabilising effect on energy sectors and impacting homes across the OSCE region. We must continue to explore further measures to prevent Russia from profiting from its war of aggression. As we phase out Russian energy from our domestic markets, we will seek to develop solutions that reduce Russian revenues from hydrocarbons; support stability in global energy markets; and minimise negative economic impacts.

Our targeting Russia must be complemented by support to Ukraine.

Ensuring Ukraine has access to available energy will not only make sure the economy continues to function, but will also keep people warm and allow hospitals to provide emergency healthcare when it’s needed. Also, the provision of vital equipment can enhance the detection of illicit movement of materials within Ukraine and across its borders, helping the country recover from Russian control of the Chernobyl site.

The UK has announced a £5 million support fund designated to providing safety and security equipment to Ukraine’s civil nuclear sector, restoring safety and security at Chernobyl and Ukraine’s other nuclear sites following Russian attacks. We are also helping Ukraine reconnect power across the country and repair energy infrastructure.

As well as fuelling a green transition, energy systems play an indispensable role in ensuring national security and economic resilience. These systems are threatened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with consequences that can be felt across the OSCE region. We encourage all States to continue to reduce their dependence on the Russian energy that fuels this conflict; to condemn the wildly irresponsible actions of Russia that threaten the safety of Europe; and to stand by Ukraine and its energy sector as it helps the country recover from Russia’s brutal invasion.

The UK welcomes the opportunity to reflect on the operation of the economic and environmental forum and dimension. This dimension offers particular opportunities for dialogue and cooperation that may not be open to our colleagues working on other issues, as demonstrated by our success in recent years in achieving consensus on these topics.

Environmental confidence-building measures, such as trans-national water cooperation or forestry protection, can better protect both sides from environmental disasters, whether natural or man-made; whilst greater economic connectivity can deepen ties across States, building resilience to conflict. And of course the existential threat of climate change makes the second dimension more relevant than ever.

In 1992, in this city, OSCE Ministers agreed to strengthen the organisation’s focus on the transition to, and development of, free-market economies, as an essential contribution to the building of democracy. While environmental issues were subsequently added to the OSCE’s mandate, the forum’s original objective of promoting better relations through regional connectivity and cooperation remains as important as ever – a fact made more obvious as one participating State now chooses economic isolation and weaponisation over collaboration and partnership.

As with the adding of environmental issues, what is important is the Forum’s – and the wider dimension’s – ability to respond to new challenges. For example, as climate change presents itself increasingly as a threat to regional security, so should the OCEEA shift focus to this topic. We welcome their doing so. Similarly, as the economies of the OSCE region – and especially Ukraine – are threatened, so should the OCEEA respond to this new challenge. And we welcome their proposed programme of work.

We are asked in this session to consider emerging themes. With Russia’s refusal to engage with the international community we have witnessed the end of the economic cooperation necessary for economic recovery and growth. The OSCE remains a useful platform for economic cooperation, but as long as Russia rejects international norms and behaviours, isolates itself from the international community, and violates the forum’s economic principles, the OSCE will not be able to reach its potential. We continue to call for Russia to live up to the commitments it has freely signed up to.

The UK believes in co-operation on these issues in a wider Europe. We have a positive experience of economic cooperation with states across the OSCE. For example, our development programme in Central Asia supports efforts on anti-corruption, innovation, the growth of small businesses, diversifying the private sector, and economic policy delivery. This work includes drawing on best practices from comparable contexts and building local capacity – exactly the sort of work the OSCE does best.

We also promote regional cooperation and connectivity in Central Asia through the CASA-1000 energy transmission project, which connecting hydropower stations in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. We see the benefits of deeper economic connectivity across the region, and welcome the OCEEA’s role in enhancing trade, transport and digital facilitation. Connectivity and cooperation amongst peaceful states are central to resilience – we cannot rely on those who may threaten us. We welcome the OCEEA’s work on the protection of critical energy infrastructure and advancing energy security in Central Asia.

We also recognise the important role the OSCE can play in water diplomacy and water management. The work done since 2004 on the Dniester river basin has yielded strong results. As climate change exacerbates water scarcity, transboundary co-operation will only become more important.

To conclude, there is no division in the OSCE between sub regions when it comes to our ability to cooperate on economic and environmental issues. And it is in all states’ self-interest to do so. However, so long as one state continues to shun the offers of cooperation and pursue a violent, unilateral campaign against a fellow OSCE participating State, it will drag the whole region down in the process. In considering the future orientation of the second dimension, we must look afresh at how we mobilise our economic and environmental tools to increase our collective resilience against such barbarity.

Thank you.

The theme of this year’s Forum is sustainable economic recovery – a theme set last year when we were still reeling from the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Back then, our most pressing issue was to find a way to limit and reverse the economic damage being done, whilst also accelerating the transition towards a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient form of economic development and growth.

Times have changed.

Even as COVID-19 continues to claim lives and livelihoods, and climate change threatens to undo hard won development gains, we are faced with a new threat. But this time it comes from the deliberate actions of one participating State.

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has become the region’s most pressing security issue. But until Russia is stopped, our collective economies will continue to suffer, with Ukraine suffering most of all.

The economic dialogue that is necessary for economic cooperation and recovery is a function of political dialogue. But Russia has shown, through its complete disregard for international norms that it has no interest in political dialogue.

Faced with appalling barbarism and war crimes, the international community rallied together to condemn the war and impose the largest and most severe economic sanctions Russia has ever faced.

From the UK’s side we have sanctioned Putin’s corrupt cronies; frozen Russian state assets; cut off access to the UK’s financial services; hindered those behind Putin’s disinformation agencies, including RT and Sputnik; stopped Russian aircraft from flying or landing in the UK; and banned their vessels from our ports. We join others in our collective resolve to keep targeting Russia’s economy until Ukraine prevails.

It is clear that President Putin did not anticipate this reaction. So accustomed is he to acting with total impunity within his own borders that he wrongly expected the world to turn a blind eye as his army crossed another’s. We now see him lashing out through crude attempts to weaponise Russia’s energy exports and use energy as a tool of geopolitical coercion. The dire consequences of this are felt across the globe, including by many States represented here.

In order to better protect our societies from Russia’s aggression we must collectively increase our economic and energy resilience. This includes reducing reliance on Russian hydrocarbons; committing to energy and resource diversification; and expediting global clean energy transition towards net zero by 2050. The OCEEA’s work on energy network protection and sustainable energy production is central to these efforts.

Resilience also requires deepening regional connectivity amongst peaceful neighbours; increasing cooperation over scarce resources such as water; and mitigating the worst effects of climate change together. We welcome the OCEEA’s support in fostering greater bilateral and regional co-operation in these areas.

Russia’s war indeed affects us all. But we should not lose sight of who it affects most. When Ukraine has prevailed, and successfully defended itself against this aggressor, its economic recovery can be completed.

The United Kingdom will push for immediate investment to drive sustainable and inclusive economic growth. We need to need able to support those returning to Ukraine; we need to give people hope about the future; and we need to give them the means to be able to support themselves.

Ukraine has shown itself to be a bastion of freedom and democracy. It is now the duty of those countries who believe in OSCE principles to do whatever it takes to support its sustainable economic recovery. Ukraine’s recovery from Russia’s war of aggression will be a symbol of the power of democracy over autocracy, of freedom over oppression. It will show Putin that his attempts to destroy Ukraine have only produced a stronger, more prosperous and more united nation.

Thank you.

Prime Minister Liz Truss will use a speech in New York today (Wednesday) to warn fellow democratic leaders against any complacency when it comes to defending our values and preserving a world order that rewards freedom.

At the first ever session of the UN General Assembly held in the shadow of a large-scale war of aggression in Europe, the Prime Minister will highlight the threat from authoritarian states working to undermine security and stability around the world.

She will outline her vision for this new, more competitive era, which will require likeminded democracies to fight to defend our ideals. This fight begins with ensuring the UK and its partners have the strong economic foundations they need to constrain authoritarianism.

The Prime Minister will outline her plans to build a British economy which attracts growth by rewarding innovation, championing investment and enterprise, and welcoming the best talent around the world.

She will also set out the steps the Government is taking to ensure the British economy is free from malign interference. This includes increasing our energy independence and safeguarding the security of our supply chains.

In her speech, the Prime Minister is expected to say:

The commitment to hope and progress must begin at home – in the lives of every citizen that we serve…

…We want people to keep more of the money they earn, because we believe that freedom trumps instruction…

…We are reforming our economy to get Britain moving forward once again. The free world needs this economic strength and resilience to push back against authoritarian aggression and win this new era of strategic competition…

…We will no longer be strategically dependent on those who seek to weaponise the global economy.

As the UK boosts the dynamism and resilience of our own economy, the Prime Minister will also make the case for democracies working together to protect one another’s economic security.

The strength of democratic economies, rooted as they are in the aspirations of their people, is a clear counterpoint to autocratic states, which sow the seeds of their own demise by stifling aspiration and creativity.

The Prime Minister will make the case for harnessing that strength and denying authoritarian states the opportunity to manipulate the global economy.

She will tell the UN General Assembly that the G7 and other likeminded partners must act as an economic NATO, collectively defending our prosperity and coming to the aid of any partner targeted by an aggressive regime.

This economic security goes hand in hand with physical security. The Prime Minister will therefore reiterate her commitment to protecting the UK and our allies, including by increasing defence spending to 3% of UK GDP on defence by 2030.

The Prime Minister is expected to say:

Just as we are building a plan for growth at home, we are also developing a new blueprint for our engagement with the world.

We will build resilience and collective security – because they are vital for freedom and democracy. We will be a reliable, trustworthy and dynamic partner.

To ensure the UK’s diplomatic, military and security architecture is keeping pace with evolving threat posed by hostile nations, the Prime Minister has commissioned an update to the Integrated Review.

The UK’s Integrated Review of security, defence, development and foreign policy was published in March 2021 – before Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine created the greatest security challenge ever experienced by NATO.

Professor John Bew, the Prime Minister’s special adviser for foreign affairs and defence, will lead a Downing Street process to update the review.

The refreshed strategy will ensure we are investing in the strategic capabilities and alliances we need to stand firm against coercion from authoritarian powers like Russia and China. The update is expected to be published by the end of this year.

By properly investing in defence, the Prime Minister will ensure that the UK maintains our position as the leading security actor in Europe, so that we are ready to stand up for peace, prosperity and freedom across the world – just as we have done in Ukraine.

The Prime Minister will highlight these efforts in her speech. She will pay tribute to the bravery and determination of the Ukrainian people, and commit to continue standing up for human rights and democracy around the world.

The Prime Minister is expected to say:

This is a decisive moment in British history, in the history of this organisation, and in the history of freedom.

The story of 2022 could have been that of an authoritarian state rolling its tanks over the border of a peaceful neighbour and subjugating its people.

Instead, it is the story of freedom fighting back… But this must not be a one off….

…Britain’s commitment to this is total.

Together with our friends and allies around the world, we will continue to champion freedom, sovereign and democracy.

And we will define this new era as one of hope and progress.