The elite’s green fantasies are finally unravelling: The desperate scramble for fossil fuels now makes the posturing of COP26 look almost otherworldly.

Today Boris Johnson is using his final speech as UK prime minister to assert the primary importance of energy security. He says the nation needs energy in the future to be ‘cheap, clean, reliable and plentiful’. And he denounces the ‘myopia’ and the ‘short-termism’ that has led the UK to not complete a single new nuclear reactor in 27 years. Johnson’s parting pledge is to build eight new nuclear reactors, at a pace of one per year.

Of course, Johnson does not name the obsession with the climate as the chief culprit – nor does he call for a rethink on unreliable renewable energy or Net Zero targets. But it is a striking change in emphasis from a PM who just nine months ago, at COP26 in Glasgow, was channelling his inner Greta, denouncing the evils of the Industrial Revolution as he tried to corral other world leaders into dismantling their energy supplies.

Behind the scenes, the u-turns are even more dizzying. We’re seeing a flurry of new drilling licences for North Sea oil and gas. Ministers are pleading with oil-and-gas firms to invest in new infrastructure, pushing against years of government policy and so-called ESG initiatives from the business world, which were designed explicitly to throttle such investment.

Meanwhile, gas-storage facilities are being brought out of retirement – such as the Rough facility in east Yorkshire, once the UK’s largest, which was closed back in 2017. And fracking, which for years has been frustrated by overzealous regulation and was suspended entirely in 2019, is expected to get the green light when the next PM assumes office.

Even coal – the most demonised of fossil fuels – is making a comeback. At least three coal plants that were due to be shut down will have their lives extended. This is despite the fact that the UK is officially committed to ending its use of coal power by 2024.