Government to mandate annual oil and gas licensing
The government will require annual oil and gas licensing to “boost UK energy security” and reduce dependence on foreign imports.
The government will require annual oil and gas licensing to “boost UK energy security” and reduce dependence on foreign imports.
Future licensing could secure 200,000 jobs and billions in tax receipts.
Licensing rounds are supposed to support lower carbon emissions and be contingent on specific tests to transition to net zero.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) warns the UK is falling off-pace for net zero by 2050. Key targets are being missed on every front, and the government has today announced plan to mandate annual licensing rounds for North Sea oil and gas exploration.
The Conservatives have their eyes fixed on fossil fuel dependence as one last hurrah, despite rapid transition being imperative.
Emissions are set to overshoot mandated levels twofold, and with the government failing to meet four-fifths of recommended near-term actions, we need to see a rapid change of course.
But since 2016, over £10 billion in exploration subsidies have gone to petroleum companies, while proven clean technologies remain under-utilised. Alternative proposals for west coast tidal range, for example, could deliver 10GW of emissions-free energy in five years.
Moreover, most of the potential 500 million barrels at Rosebank are likely to be exported. Pursuing maximum extraction will do little to displace imports, with most so-called "domestic" oil and gas feeding globalised energy markets. Yet new developments will likely prolong extraction for decades.