What does the King's speech mean for oil and gas?
The bill will require emissions tests to “ensure that future licensing supports the transition to net zero.” It's a counterintuitive approach, for sure.
The Speech Excerpt:
“Legislation will be introduced to strengthen the United Kingdom’s energy security and reduce reliance on volatile international energy markets and hostile foreign regimes. This Bill will support the future licencing of new oil and gas fields, helping the country transition to net zero by 2050 without adding undue burdens on households.”
The Substance:
The government have published a 76-page document explaining the contents of the King’s speech. When it comes to climate, we all know that King Charles holds the matter close to his heart. But as the government wrote the speech, poor Charlie had to grit his teeth and formally announce a bill to support the future licencing of new oil and gas fields.
So, what does this new document tell us?
The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill will be proposed in this parliament and allow for regular oil and gas licensing.
The Bill will require emissions tests to “ensure that future licensing supports the transition to net zero.” It's a counterintuitive approach, for sure, and one that also doesn’t get any substantive attention in the new doc.
The Bill will apply to the whole of the UK.
It will supposedly be “vital to the UK’s energy security”, but if history teaches us anything, we should probably hold our breath and expect most of it to be shipped abroad.
Interestingly, we also learn that the scope of the Bill could cover improving the energy efficiency of homes, but information besides its general involvement is scarce.
Are you hitting your targets?
The speech features an interesting line:
“While we deliver our net zero targets at home, we're also leading the global effort to tackle climate change — including committing over £1.6 billion for the Green Climate Fund, the biggest single international climate pledge the UK has ever made.”
While the pledge is welcome, the notion that the government is delivering net zero targets at home is misguided for reasons outlined in yesterday’s newsletter.