New licences for oil and gas exploration have been announced, with Business and Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg insisting the move will help the energy crisis without conflicting Net Zero.
The North Sea Transition Authority estimates 100 new licences may be granted and follows the government lifting the fracking ban for shale gas in England.
The government have cited Russia’s war in Ukraine and its ransoming of energy as justification for exploring all sovereign energy resources to achieve energy security.
At the Conservative Party Conference, Rees-Mogg said: “Energy supply and security is the foundation of our prosperity.
“Our aim is to secure cheap and plentiful supplies, that may lead socialist commentators to paint me as a fossil fuel junkie, but I am neither fossil fuel junkie, nor a junkie of any other variety: I am committed to Net Zero by 2050, but the green agenda does not mean an agenda of poverty.”
On his path for intelligent greenery, Rees-Mogg explained how shale gas produced by fracking will reduce reliance on Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), which has higher carbon emissions due to its import.
He also announced plans for the UK’s first prototype fusion energy plant to replace the Burton Coal Fired Power Station in Nottinghamshire, which he said: “Will be a beacon of beautiful green energy.”
But many climate activists aren’t convinced.
Rosie Rogers, head of Greenpeace UK’s oil campaign, said: “The 2019 manifesto was clear that there wouldn’t be new fracking, so no-one voted for this.
“It remains the case that fracking is speculative, won’t help cut energy bills, creates the risk of stranded assets, and probably won’t work – as the head of Cuadrilla has even said.
“This is yet another massive distraction from getting on with practical solutions like making our homes warm, cutting energy waste and rolling out cheap, homegrown renewable power. It seems like fracking fantasies have taken the government hostage.”
Paul Ekins, Professor of Resources and Environment Policy at University College London, said a government fully invested in climate and energy security would be focusing on energy efficiency and renewables.
He said: “It is by no means all black in terms of climate action, but energy efficiency is the most conspicuous hole in that.”
This is a point Philip Evans, energy transition campaigner for Greenpeace UK, is keen to make.
He said: “Experts have repeatedly made clear that we need warmer, energy efficient homes, and a big push for cheap, homegrown, renewable power.
“New oil and gas licences won’t lower energy bills for struggling families this winter or any winter soon nor provide energy security in the medium term but will make the climate crisis even worse.”
With COP27 and a winter that is sure to compound the cost-of-living around the corner, the Business and Energy Secretary seems sure his recent plans tread a careful line between the energy and climate crisis.
Featured image credit: “North Sea Oil Rig” by Tips For Travellers licensed under CC BY 2.0.
