PM backing new oil and gas licences 'wrong decision at wrong time', warns Tory
Campaigners, unions and MPs blasted ministers for backing new drilling for North Sea oil and gas today.
Hundreds of new licences will be approved so polluting fossil fuels can keep powering Britain for decades to come, Rishi Sunak confirmed. Speaking in Aberdeenshire, he said: “Now more than ever, it’s vital that we bolster our energy security and capitalise on that independence to deliver more affordable, clean energy to British homes and businesses.”
However, last November, as he flew to the COP27 climate change summit in Egypt, the PM claimed: "Fighting climate change is not just a moral good – is it fundamental to our future prosperity and security. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and contemptible manipulation of energy prices has only reinforced the importance of ending our dependence on fossil fuels."
The Prime Minister said the move would protect thousands of jobs (SWNS)Tory MP Chris Skidmore, who has spearheaded policies to clash carbon emissions, blasted Mr Sunak's U-turn. He said: "This is the wrong decision at precisely the wrong time, when the rest of the world is experiencing record heat waves. It is on the wrong side of a future economy that will be founded on renewable and clean industries and not fossil fuels. It is on the wrong side of modern voters who will vote with their feet at the next general election for parties that protect, and not threaten, our environment, and it is on the wrong side of history, that will not look favourably on the decision taken today.”
Furious environmentalists warned the move would undermine efforts to slash carbon emissions. Greenpeace’s Philip Evans said: “Relying on fossil fuels is terrible for our energy security, the cost of living, and the climate. Our sky-high bills and recent extreme weather have demonstrated that. Rishi Sunak knows that any oil and gas from the North Sea will just be sold on the international market, making oil companies even richer at the expense of the rest of us.”
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
Is Sunak wrong to allow drilling for more North Sea oil and gas? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.
Green New Deal Rising co-director Hannah Martin feared the Government “seems intent on abandoning all pretence that they are serious about tackling the climate crisis”. Oxfam’s climate change policy adviser Lyndsay Walsh said: “Today's wrongheaded decision is yet another example of the government’s hypocritical and dangerously inconsistent climate policy. Extracting more fossil fuels from the North Sea will send a wrecking ball through the UK’s climate commitments at a time when we should be investing in a just transition to a low carbon economy and our own abundant renewables.”
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said: “Today’s announcement from the Prime Minister appears to be nothing more than a cynical attempt to stoke division at the expense of both the climate and people across the country who are already struggling with rising living costs. Such an announcement, as evidence of climate breakdown is all around us and shortly after the UN Secretary-General has said we are in an era of ‘climate boiling’, makes Sunak nothing short of a climate criminal. To say we need to burn more fossil fuels from the North Sea in order to meet net zero by 2050 is blatant greenwash.”
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer (John Myers)The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit’s head of energy Jess Ralston said: “Government is currently subsidising oil and gas companies to drill more in the North Sea. This will not bring down bills as there isn’t enough gas to move the dial on international market prices and the oil and gas industry’s own estimates show the North Sea will continue to decline no matter what the government policy is.”
She added: “This decision and its timing will also be questioned internationally, as global warming continues to drive extreme weather like heatwaves and wildfires devastating Europe and Canada today.”
Even a union whose members will benefit from the announcement opposed the move. Prospect senior deputy general secretary Sue Ferns said: “These announcements fail to recognise the scale of the response to the climate crisis that is needed. A proper plan would put delivering good green jobs at the absolute heart of a long-term plan to deliver on net-zero and energy security.”
Prospect union’s senior deputy general secretary Sue Ferns (Courtesy of the Prospect union)Institute for Public Policy Research associate director Luke Murphy accused ministers of “pouring fuel on the fire while the world burns”. He warned: “By proposing to ‘max out’ the North Sea, the Government is abandoning any pretence of climate leadership or attempt to win the global green race which is the economic opportunity of the 21st Century.”
Tessa Khan, executive director of think tank Uplift, said while the Government was “giving the oil and gas industry what it wants, these policies don’t help the British public one bit”. She added: “The only way to deliver an affordable supply of energy, and lower bills, is to move the UK away from expensive oil and gas, by helping people insulate homes and unblocking onshore renewable energy, which is so much cheaper than gas. This is smoke and mirrors from the government.
“New oil and gas licences won’t make any difference either to UK energy security or our bills. Hundreds of licences have been issued in the past decade, but it has only led to a handful of oil and gas fields. The truth is that we have burned most of the UK’s gas.”
Labour has vowed to ban new licences but it is unclear whether the party would block approvals which had been awarded if exploration work was yet to start.
Richard 'shuts up' GMB guest who says Hancock 'deserved' being called 'd***head'
Shadow Climate Change and Net-Zero Secretary Ed Miliband said: “The Conservatives plan to persist with their failed approach with a policy that will not take a penny off bills, do nothing for our energy security and drive a coach and horses through our climate commitments - while continuing to leave us at the mercy of fossil fuel dictators like (Vladimir) Putin. Only Labour has a plan for energy security, lower bills, and good jobs by making Britain a clean energy superpower and delivering a phased and responsible transition in the North Sea.”
Lib Dem Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney said: "Instead of new onshore and offshore drilling sites in the UK, we should be investing in wind and solar power, which is by far the cheapest, greenest and most popular form of energy.”
Last February, Conservative Party chairman Greg Hands - then an Energy Minister - admitted in a tweet: “We do want to import less gas, but more UK production wouldn’t reduce the global price of gas.”
* Follow Mirror Politics on Snapchat, Tiktok, Twitter and Facebook
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
