Today, the climate minister, Graham Stuart, stated that the government was “committed to new oil and gas licences in the North Sea” but would “never license oil and gas development in the UK that wasn’t compatible with net zero and 1.5C”.
In response, Greenpeace UK’s climate campaigner, Philip Evans, said:
“What an absurd thing to say. All new oil and gas drilling is incompatible with 1.5C. Don’t just take my word for it, this is also the view of the International Energy Agency, the UN secretary general, as well as countless academics and scientists.
“If the government had a shred of interest in limiting the impacts of the climate crisis it would reverse its decision to allow more fossil fuel production, and stop propping up an industry that’s destroying the planet.
“And by properly taxing the astronomical profits of oil and gas giants the government could begin upgrading the grid and start to unleash the full potential of renewables so we can all have cheap, clean power.”
