Trump slams UK Net Zero at UN, touts North Sea oil

NEW YORK — Donald Trump used a rambling speech at the United Nations General Assembly to attack Britain’s climate policies, branding the push for wind and solar power as harmful to the countryside and vowing that the United States would not let those projects proliferate here. In a handle of provocative remarks that fused domestic policy with global energy strategy, Trump portrayed climate change as “the greatest con job ever,” drawing a direct line between the U.K.’s approach to Net Zero and what he described as a broader energy-security risk.

The remarks, delivered to global leaders in New York, zeroed in on the United Kingdom, which hosted Trump on a highly publicized second State Visit just days earlier. Even as Downing Street sought to present the trip as largely trouble-free, Trump’s UN speech offered a stark contrast to the tone of the earlier engagements and underscored a recurring theme in his diplomacy: willingness to challenge long-standing climate consensus and traditional Western energy policy.

Trump argued that the U.K.’s plans to replace fossil fuels with wind turbines and expansive solar fields amount to taking land out of agricultural use and reshaping the countryside. He said: “I want to stop seeing them ruining that beautiful Scottish and English countryside with windmills and massive solar panels that go seven miles by seven miles, taking away farmland. But we’re not letting this happen in America.” The comments echoed a broader critique of Net Zero policies as economically burdensome and environmentally questionable, particularly in an era when the United States has recalibrated its own energy strategy toward more domestic production.

If the UN address had a common thread, it was a recurring focus on North Sea oil. Trump described the resource as “so highly taxed that no developer, no oil company can go there,” and pressed that North Sea energy should be an asset the U.K. can and should exploit. He insisted there was “tremendous oil that hasn’t been found yet” and that the United Kingdom, especially with its offshore reserves, could retain a powerful energy edge if policy incentives were aligned with drilling rather than restricting it. The former president repeated a point he has raised in recent days: that he had encouraged the British prime minister to drill more and that Britain’s oil potential had been underutilized, a claim aligned with his broader push to cast North Sea resources as a national asset rather than a liability.

The remarks regarding energy came amid a broader denunciation of climate policies. Trump contended that a global transition away from fossil fuels should not come at the expense of national energy security, arguing that countries like the United States would not cede leadership to policies that, in his view, suppress domestic oil and gas development. He reaffirmed his belief that North Sea oil remains a major, underutilized resource for the U.K. economy and energy security, insisting that the country has “tremendous oil left” and that much of it remains undiscovered. The exchange framed a sharp geopolitical contrast, with Washington and London potentially diverging on how to balance climate goals and energy sovereignty.

The UN speech also touched on domestic politics far from the UN dais. Trump directed a volley at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his party’s energy agenda, juxtaposing it against his own calls for increased oil and gas production. He referenced a recent private exchange with the British prime minister, describing the leader as “sitting with the greatest asset” and noting that he had urged more drilling on several occasions. The comments were delivered against the backdrop of Starmer’s leadership of a Labour Party that has championed a more aggressive Net Zero timetable, a policy path Trump argued would undermine energy resilience and economic growth.

Beyond energy and climate topics, Trump also raised an extraordinary charge against London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan. He asserted that Khan had intentions to pursue Sharia Law in the British capital, a claim that drew attention for its political inflation and for highlighting Trump’s strategy of wielding provocative accusations to galvanize supporters. While the remark drew attention in headlines around the world, the UN appearance did not appear to shift the broader international conversation on climate or energy, which continued to revolve around policy disagreements among Western allies and key developing nations.

Downing Street officials framed the state visit as progressing with minimal disruption, and the UN remarks did not derail a carefully choreographed display of Anglo-American unity. Trump’s UN speech arrived after a week in which he had already been treated to a warmly staged, largely ceremonial encounter with the British leadership. At a separate joint appearance at Chequers, the prime minister and the U.S. president delivered a largely cooperative message, with neither side signaling a major shift in policy direction, even as the rhetoric remained sharp on energy and climate policy.

The timing of Trump’s UN speech underscored the persistence of intense global debates over climate policy’s cost, feasibility and political resonance. While the United States has moved to expand domestic energy production and reduce reliance on foreign energy, many European governments have pursued aggressive decarbonization goals that rely heavily on renewable capacity and reform of energy markets. Trump’s comments amplify a recurring tension between climate ambitions and energy affordability and security—a tension that the U.N. climate discussions and international energy forums are likely to carry into the coming months.

As nations continue to navigate an era of rapid geopolitical change, the United States’ posture on climate and energy policy remains a point of contention. Trump’s UN address contributes to a broader narrative in which Western leaders reassess decarbonization timelines and associated economic impacts, while energy-rich regions seek to preserve access to traditional sources of oil and gas. The global community watches to see whether the evolving discourse will translate into policy recalibration among allied nations or remain a source of political rhetoric in high-stakes international forums.