UK to grant hundreds of new oil and gas licenses, ignoring calls from environmentalists

“The solution is clear: The world must phase out fossil fuels in a just and equitable way — moving to leave oil, coal and gas in the ground where they belong — and massively boosting renewable investment in a just transition.”

Britain began pumping oil and gas from the North Sea in the mid-1970s, a major source of jobs and tax revenue, particularly in Scotland. But production has been declining since around 2000, making support for the industry a major political issue.

British authorities have pledged to reduce net carbon emissions by 68% by the end of the decade, on the way to reaching net-zero by 2050. Achieving net-zero means releasing only as much greenhouse gasses as can be pulled out of the atmosphere through natural or technological means.

But the government’s climate advisers say the pace of progress is “worryingly slow.” In a report last month, an advisory panel that tracks the U.K.’s decarbonization efforts slammed officials for backtracking on commitments and said Britain had “lost its clear global leadership position on climate action.”

The Climate Change Committee said backing for a new coal mine and new domestic oil and gas production undermined Britain’s “international messaging” on the need to stop developing fossil fuel projects.

The carbon capture and storage projects backed by Sunak aim to remove carbon dioxide from industrial emissions and pump it into old gas fields for permanent storage underground.

Environmental campaigners say the risk of focusing on this technology is that it may distract the government from other programs needed to accelerate the drive to net-zero, and deceive consumers into thinking that continued use of fossil fuels is compatible with such a goal.

“It’s a bit difficult to take seriously the idea that this should be prioritized for prime ministerial attention when so much else needs it instead,’’ Doug Parr, the chief scientific officer for Greenpeace UK, told the BBC.

Stuart Haszeldine, a professor of carbon capture and storage at the University of Edinburgh, said Sunak’s cash injection could be “transformative’’ in expanding carbon capture and storage, but there is reason to be skeptical about the motives of the energy industry, which has traditionally been more focused on making money for shareholders than pursuing environmental targets.

“Unless the governments make carbon capture and storage profitable, oil companies tend not to be very interested,’’ Haszeldine told the BBC. “Their money can talk very loudly, but it doesn’t listen very well.”

“What governments are often subjected to is intense lobbying by oil and gas companies to continue extracting oil and gas and to go slow on carbon capture and storage,” he added.