UK Grants 100+ Oil & Gas Licences While Claiming Net‑Zero Aims
Rishi Sunak has just handed out more than a hundred fresh oil and gas licences in the North Sea, under the banner that this will “speed up our path to net zero.” In the same breath, the prime minister rolled out a £20 billion pledge for carbon‑capture projects and declared it a tech‑forward move that Britain could lead the world in.
The Newlicence Boom
- Sunak says the UK “will need 25 % of oil and gas” to keep the lights on and keep Britain “powerful from Britain” instead of tying itself to foreign dictators like Vladimir Putin.
- He argues the extra licences are “entirely consistent” with the 2050 net‑zero target, pointing out that domestic extraction cuts transport emissions and keeps jobs home.
Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) Rollout
“If we’re going to need it, far better to have it here at home rather than shipping it from halfway around the world,” Sunak said. The government will funnel
£20 billion into early CCS deployment and promises to pioneer new tech that the UK can shout, “We’re the future‑makers!”
Labour’s Take
- Shadow Climate Secretary Ed Miliband labelled the Tory policy as “weak and confused,” claiming it will not lower bills for millions of households.
- He warned that the decision “will not take a penny off bills” and argued it’s a repeat of past mistakes, leaving Britain vulnerable to fossil‑fuel “dictators.”
- Oxfam climate adviser Lyndsay Walsh slammed the licences as a “wrecking ball through the UK’s climate commitments,” urging a shift to renewable sources instead of digging deeper into the fossil‑fuel vault.
Bottom Line
While Sunak frames the licences as a necessary step toward energy independence and net‑zero, critics drop a truth bomb: it’s a double‑edged sword that could undo decades of climate progress. What’s next? Whether Britain will successfully juggle oil, gas, CCS, and renewables remains an open question—one that justices like Ed Miliband and Lyndsay Walsh are keeping a very wary eye on.
