Business leaders gathering in London Cafe Royal on Wednesday to mull over the global problems of energy policy and climate change were solemnly assured there was “no pouch of fairy dust to sprinkle over these complex issues”.The warning from Alan Johnson, the trade and industry secretary, did not seem to take any of the 300 delegates by surprise. Rocketing fuel prices, a squeeze on supply, a growing dependence on imported gas and rising carbon dioxide emissions have produced a consensus that UK energy policy needs to be changed – again. Tony Blair, Britain’s prime minister, last week pledged to review energy policy next year, just three years after his government’s 2003 white policy paper on the issue.

Britain is not alone in struggling to reconcile its energy provision and policies with rapidly growing demand and international commitments to reduce greenhouse gases. The intellectual battle being waged by the lobbyists in Britain the UK mirrors arguments across the globe.“What’s being debated here has echoes around the developed world,” says Stephen Radley, chief economist at the EEF, the body that represents UK manufacturers. “The discussion has started in the US and we’ll see a lot more European countries debating this as well.”