The government will issue hundreds of new oil and gas licences for the North Sea and a £20 billion funding for carbon capture to “power up Britain”, confirmed prime minster Rishi Sunak.
Sunak said when the country reaches net zero in 2050, a quarter of the energy will still come from fossil fuels, stating “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.”
A £20 billion funding will go towards early carbon capture deployment — the process of sustainably trapping carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels — in North East Scotland and Humber. They become the third and fourth such projects to be backed by the government.
Sunak argues the new carbon capture projects could back 50,000 jobs in Britain by 2050 and “will support thousands of skilled jobs, unlock further opportunities for green technologies and grow the economy.”
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North Sea reactions
Head of Oxfam Scotland Jamie Livingstone said the new North Sea licences are a “short-sighted and selfish decision by the UK government” which “flies in the face of climate science and common sense”.
Livingstone said if these fields come on stream in the future, “they will deal another devastating blow to the millions of people in low-income countries”.
He highlighted the UN’s pledge to end the “global addiction” to fossil fuels and said the decision “sends a wrecking ball through the UK’s climate commitments”.
Labour on the other hand has said it will stop any new North Sea projects if it comes into power.
A Labour source told The Guardian in June that party is “against the granting of new licences for oil and gas in the North Sea. They will do nothing to cut bills as the Tories have acknowledged; they undermine our energy security and would drive a coach and horse through our climate targets.
“But Labour would continue to use existing oil and gas wells over the coming decades and manage them sustainably as we transform the UK into a clean energy superpower.”
