The UK is lagging behind the rest of Europe in its preparation for the energy transition.

That’s according to a new report by the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA), which compared the preparedness of 13 countries from the continent for changing energy markets.

The report stresses that although the UK’s long-term goals are ambitious, the policy priorities are too short-term, which has led to uncertainty for the energy sector in where to invest.

With less investment, the UK is one of the worst-prepared nations in the study for the transition.

Key barriers to the energy transition include regulations, grid access delays and poor flexibility markets.

The REA warns that the financial impact of slowing the energy transition will be severe to both green goals and chances for savings.

Nina Skorupska, REA CEO, commented: “Despite the warm rhetoric from the government, the UK is lagging behind many other countries in preparing for the energy transition – if this was a league table, the UK would be in the relegation zone.

“We now need to see significant action from the government to remove the barriers facing our industry: proper long-term planning; prioritising and accelerating market reforms; and urgently addressing current investment barriers – all are desperately needed to help put the UK on the right path.”

A government spokesperson said: “We remain fully committed to the legally binding target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“This week the government set out how we will continue to secure the UK’s energy security while reducing emissions, including through new nuclear and renewables and new government funding worth £6 billion to improve energy efficiency.”