The Carbon Brief Interview: Head of UK "mission" for clean power, Chris Stark

The economics of clean energy “just get better and better”, leaving opponents of the transition looking like “King Canute”, says Chris Stark. Stark is head of the UK government’s “mission” to deliver clean power by 2030, having previously been chief executive of the advisory Climate Change Committee (CCC). In a wide-ranging interview with Carbon Brief, Stark makes the case for the “radical” clean-power mission, which he says will act as “huge insurance” against future gas-price spikes. He pushes back on “super daft” calls to abandon the target, saying he has a “huge disagreement” with the Tony Blair Institute on this. Stark also takes issue with “completely…crazy” attacks on the UK’s Climate Change Act, warns of the “great risk” of Conservative proposals to scrap carbon pricing and stresses – in the face of threats from Reform – the importance of being a country that respects legal contracts. He says: “The problems and woes of this country, in terms of the cost of energy, are due to fossil fuels, not due to the Climate Change Act.” The UK should become an “electrostate” built on clean-energy technologies, says Stark, but it needs a “cute” strategy on domestic supply chains and will have to interact with China. Beyond the UK, despite media misinformation and the US turn against climate action, Stark concludes that the global energy transition is “heading in one direction”: “The movie is that things are heading in one direction, towards something cleaner. Good luck if you think you can avoid that.” This interview was conducted by Simon Evans at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero on 12 February 2026. Filming by Kerry Cleaver and Joe Goodman. Our Creative Commons license: you are welcome to reproduce original material unadapted in full for non-commercial use, credited ‘Carbon Brief’ with a link to the original article. Please contact us for commercial use. https://www.carbonbrief.org Music credit: Into Infinity artists Unrecognisable Now, Naohito Uchiyama, Languis (CC BY-NC 3.0 US). 00:00 Intro 00:10 What is the mission for clean power 2030 02:40 Is it achievable? 06:24 Falling electricity demand 09:02 Electricity prices 14:06 Centrica CEO response 15:09 Pledge to lower bills by £300 16:45 Tony Blair Institute response 19:47 Carbon pricing 21:47 Gas prices 23:24 Contracts with renewables 25:35 Offshore wind vs solar 28:50 Energy security and electrotech 32:13 Climate Change Act 35:44 Climate misinformation 38:06 How optimistic are you about net zero?