Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is a ministerial department of the UK Government, created on 7 February 2023 during a cabinet reshuffle under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. It absorbed the energy policy functions of the former Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which was dissolved and split into multiple new departments. Grant Shapps, the final BEIS Secretary of State, became the first to lead DESNZ, serving from February to August 2023. The department was formed in direct response to the energy price crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the UK's legally binding 2050 net zero target.

DESNZ leads on the government's mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower, with two core pillars: clean power by 2030 and accelerating to net zero across the wider economy. Its statutory responsibilities include ensuring UK energy security, protecting billpayers, supporting economic growth and jobs, and reducing emissions. The department works closely with the devolved administrations and statutory advisers such as the Climate Change Committee.

Headquartered at 55 Whitehall, London, DESNZ employs around 4,500 staff and is supported by 14 agencies and public bodies, including the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Great British Energy. The department spent £6.7 billion in 2024-25, with major outlays on nuclear decommissioning, Sizewell C, and affordable energy interventions. [edit]

DESNZ's mission is to make Britain a clean energy superpower by ensuring energy security, protecting billpayers, supporting economic growth and jobs, and reducing the UK's emissions. This is pursued through two core objectives: delivering clean power by 2030 and accelerating the transition to net zero across the economy by 2050. [edit]

DESNZ was established on 7 February 2023 when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak split the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy into three new departments: DESNZ, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The move reversed the 2016 merger that had absorbed the Department of Energy and Climate Change into BEIS, signalling a renewed focus on energy security after Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent wholesale gas prices soaring.

Grant Shapps served as the first Secretary of State for just six months, before Claire Coutinho took over in August 2023. Under Coutinho, the department navigated the Sunak government's decision to delay certain net zero targets, such as the ban on new petrol cars, while maintaining the 2050 net zero commitment. The 2024 general election brought a Labour government, with Ed Miliband appointed Secretary of State in July 2024, followed later that year by Miatta Fahnbulleh. The new government launched the Clean Power by 2030 mission and established Great British Energy, a publicly owned energy company headquartered in Aberdeen.

In 2024-25, DESNZ spent £6.7 billion, with major increases in Sizewell C investment. The National Audit Office published its first dedicated overview of the department, noting the dual clean power and net zero mission pillars. The Climate Change Committee's 2025 assessment found that progress on net zero had been made but further acceleration was needed. [edit]