What Miatta Fahnbulleh’s Appointment Means for UK Infrastructure Investment
With the formation of his new government, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has completed his senior cabinet and one of his most significant appointments is the selection of Miatta Fahnbulleh as Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero.
At a time when Britain’s energy system is under unprecedented pressure to modernise, decarbonise and deliver economic growth simultaneously, the appointment offers an early indication of how the new government intends to approach one of its biggest policy challenges and this looks like it will be through an economics first approach.
The energy transition has reached a point where ambition alone is no longer enough. The debate is moving beyond targets and commitments towards a much more practical question: how do we actually fund delivery?
From my perspective, that is why Miatta Fahnbulleh’s appointment is particularly interesting for the infrastructure sector.
I’ve had the opportunity to meet Miatta on several occasions through industry engagement over the last couple of years, and what has consistently struck me is the way she approaches industry and links that to economic drivers and then policy follows.
She has come across as pragmatic and genuinely interested in understanding how major infrastructure is financed and delivered. Rather than seeking political headlines, to me she has also asked questions about investment, delivery, planning and the practical barriers businesses face when trying to get projects off the ground.
One thing that particularly stood out to me was her willingness to engage. Westminster is full of diary pressures and ministers often make only brief appearances at industry events but on the occasions, I met her Miatta was different.
She regularly stayed well beyond what was “necessary” for her role, listening to different perspectives and taking the time to understand the realities facing those responsible for delivering the UK’s infrastructure. That may seem like a small detail but, with a Westminster lens, it speaks volumes about how someone approaches policymaking.
Her background will also give her a distinctive perspective. While she has always been committed to delivering net zero, her experience is rooted as much more in economics as it is in climate policy. My impression has always been that she sees affordable, secure energy not simply as an environmental objective, but as the foundation for economic growth, industrial competitiveness and national resilience.
The UK cannot build the infrastructure it needs through public spending alone. Modernising electricity networks, accelerating grid connections, expanding heat networks, supporting industrial decarbonisation and investing in technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture will all depend on attracting significant private capital. Investors, in turn, need confidence that policy will be stable, planning processes will improve, and projects can move from concept to construction without unnecessary delay.
From the conversations I’ve had with her, my sense is that she understands this dynamic. She appears to recognise that government’s role extends beyond setting ambitious policy objectives. It must also create the conditions that give businesses and investors the confidence to commit for the long term.
If that philosophy is reflected in tangible actions in both the Departments and the wider government’s agenda, I would expect continued emphasis on electricity network investment, accelerating grid delivery, supporting heat networks, enabling industrial decarbonisation and backing hydrogen and carbon capture where they strengthen economic growth and industrial capability. I would also expect regional investment and planning reform to remain high on the agenda, helping unlock infrastructure more quickly across the UK.
Importantly, I think the conversation is likely to shift. For years we’ve debated whether investment is needed. Increasingly, the challenge is how we lock in that investment and deliver it at pace.
The same practical approach may also shape thinking on the North Sea. Whilst a lot has been made about this in the last 48 hours, I’m not sure I’m expecting a wholesale reversal of climate policy.
Instead, my expectation would be for an approach that seeks to create a more economically stable balance of energy security, domestic capability, economic resilience and the transition to cleaner sources of energy. Those objectives are not mutually exclusive, and finding the right balance will be critical to maintaining investor confidence.
Ultimately, the UK’s energy transition now requires delivery every bit as much as ambition. Success will be measured not by the number of strategies published, but by the infrastructure that gets built, the investment that is unlocked and the economic opportunities that are created.
Based on my own experience of engaging with Miatta Fahnbulleh, my impression is that she instinctively focuses on practical outcomes rather than ideology. If that approach now shapes the government’s energy agenda under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, it could help create the kind of stable, investable environment that infrastructure businesses have long been looking for—one that supports both economic growth and the UK’s long-term net zero ambitions.
Griff Thomas, Executive Director of Energy Transition and External Affairs