Rishi Sunak said it would make “absolutely no sense” for the U.K. not to take advantage of its domestic fossil fuel resources as he announced hundreds of new oil and gas drilling licences in the latest setback for climate activists. The Telegraph has more.
The Prime Minister said the new licences showed the Government’s commitment to backing the North Sea oil and gas industry and would help to make Britain more energy independent.
The decision to give the green light to new drilling operations is likely to prompt a backlash from climate change activists.
But Mr. Sunak said even with the 2050 net zero emissions drive a quarter of the U.K.’s energy demand will still be met by oil and gas by the middle of the century and it would be better for the environment if it was produced domestically.
Labour has proposed to ban new oil and gas licences but Mr. Sunak said granting the new contracts was “absolutely the right thing to do”.
Mr. Sunak was asked during an interview on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Monday morning how the new licences would enhance the UK’s chances of hitting the 2050 Net Zero target.
He replied: “Because even when we reach Net Zero in 2050 a quarter of our energy needs will still come from oil and gas and domestic gas production has about a quarter or a third of the carbon footprint of imported gas.
“So not only is it better for our energy security not to rely on foreign dictators for that energy, not only is it good for jobs, particularly Scottish jobs, it is actually better for the environment because there is no point in importing stuff from halfway around the world with two to three times the carbon footprint of the stuff we have got at home. That makes absolutely no sense.”
Mr. Sunak said importing energy from abroad meant the U.K. was the victim of global fluctuations in prices and domestic production would help to shelter people from big cost increases.
He said: “It is important that we increase homegrown sources of energy to improve our resilience but also that is good for Scottish in particular jobs in the U.K.
“It is good for tax revenue as well which funds our public services and given we are going to need energy from fossil fuels for the foreseeable future as we transition to Net Zero, it makes no sense not to use the resources that we have got here at home.”
Worth reading in full.
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Whilst not to pursue an overly negative approach to this news, it’s my understanding that these licenses come with a big wodge of public subsidy for Carbon Capture and Storage. Sunak being very generous with taxpayer cash to bung the oil and gas industry to meet Government regulation (In the form of Net Zero targets).
If they capture any more bloody carbon we’ll be on a dead planet..
I commented on a Daily Telegraph article about Carbon Capture and how utterly pointless it will be. My comment was removed – see below.
Perhaps we could stuff the Eco Nutters into the spaces under the north sea ….. and capture their carbon
Can we expect a pause from JSO whilst they rethink their strategy?
How about – can we expect JSO to stop once they have thought this through thoroughly.
You imply possession of the power of thought.
He’s acting out of economic necessity, not choice.
If he was sincere, we’d be fracking for the exact same reason.
Sunak says one thing, does another.
And of course drilling is one thing – extraction is another.
Some of Sunak’s interview was broadcast by GBN this afternoon, followed by a discussion of it all, including their financial commentator. They also mentioned that the use of CCS was established quite close by – Norway. Apparently they’ve been operating it for quite a few years.
That said, if they were really keen on CCS, he could have said that building new coal fired stations fitted with CCS and keeping some collieries operational was a wise idea. Might have been better to burn local coal at Drax rather than shipping wood chips across the Atlantic on diesel powered ships (and diesel powered trains from the ports). But he didn’t say that. I guess there’s a fair bit of coal underneath Drax for the time being.
Sunak is a thoroughly dishonest charlatan and I don’t trust a word he says. In this instance, much like his mentor Bliar, he is up to something.
Agreeing to licences is one thing, getting the oil out of the ground is completely different.
He’s another who’s superb with weasel words & insincerity.
Yep, he’s just got an eye on the next GE. After that he’ll do whatever her likes
If Blair and Sunak can soften resistance by appearing to slow down Net-Zero they can retain power and plough ahead with the Great Reset. Neither are saying Net-Zero is going.
Exactly.
I look forward to the Just Stop Oil nutters cramming themselves into a small boat and “blockading” the oil platforms in the north sea ….. all winter.
The Cons are going into Opposition, so expect a lot of good soundbites and policies from them over the next year. But don’t be fooled – they will never follow through. The leaders of the Con party are bought and paid for by the new world order and they are now simply appealing to their core support to try and stop them voting for alternatives parties on the right. The Cons always talk the talk in opposition but never these days walk the walk when actually in power. Lib/Lab/Con/Green – never again.
It is the duty of every person who believes in Conservatism to abandon the Conservative Party in 2024. They are no longer Conservative.
Energy and Climate Politics is a very strange beast. —–At first sight this looks like some good news for a public battered by absurd “climate crisis” politics. —–I say “politics” because “climate crisis” is not the language of science. But is it really the good news that it seems? Ben Habib on GB News Michelle Dewberry pointed out that Corporation tax is 75% on companies that would exploit these valuable resources, and ESG (Environmental and Social Governance) woke capitalism will forbid any lending to oil and gas companies or even provide them with insurance for daring to do something that goes against NET ZERO. –We have and are getting ourselves into a mighty pickle because of this pincer movement of pretending to save planet and Wokery that acts as a magnet to herd every business like iron filings into a line of social justice compliance.
But then he ruins the policy by wanting to spend billions on carbon capture. We are governed by fools.