THE UK Government’s advisory Climate Change Committee (CCC) has written to the UK Business Secretary warning that commissioning new oil and gas drilling is not the best way to protect consumers from rocketing energy prices.

The letter to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “[We] support a tighter limit on production, with stringent tests and a presumption against exploration. An end to UK exploration would send a clear signal to investors and consumers that the UK is committed to the 1.5C degree global temperature goal.”

The National: The CCC wrote the letter to Business Secretary Kwasi KwartengThe CCC wrote the letter to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng

The letter also undercuts the arguments for UK oil and gas expansion by stating that expanding UK fields will have marginal impacts on prices for consumers, especially as UK oil fields take, on average, 28 years from granting an exploration licence to development.

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In 2020, the International Energy Agency said that there should be “no new oil and gas fields approved for development” anywhere in the world to keep within the 1.5 degree limit of dangerous climate warming. University College London research found that new oil and gas licences were incompatible with the UK’s international climate commitments.

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In the letter, CCC advised that weaning the UK off fossil fuels – and not more North Sea drilling – is the best way to protect consumers.

They also added the best approach to reducing consumer bills is by driving down demand for a fossil-fueled supply, through measures such as insulating homes, installing heat pumps, changing over to electric-powered vehicles and further developing wind and solar power energy infrastructure.

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The CCC also advised that “backwards steps” on renewable energy and home efficiency have added £140 to average energy bills across the UK, and also commented that even if emissions from producing oil and gas fields in the UK are lower than most, we’d still be feeding into a larger global market for fossil fuels and undermining global climate targets.

Rosie Rogers, head of oil and gas transition for Greenpeace UK, said: “Anyone who’s read this advice and thinks the North Sea’s future lies in oil and gas is utterly deluded because it will take decades and won’t ease energy bills.

“While this letter is addressed to Kwasi Kwarteng, Chancellor Rishi Sunak needs to take on board this evidence-based analysis, stop hoping to resurrect a declining fossil fuel industry, and instead support the real solutions to the energy crisis as we approach the Spring Statement.

“The future of the North Sea is in renewables. Our economy, our energy security and our climate depend on it.”

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s just transition campaigner Ryan Morrison said: “In advising Ministers to support a tighter limit on oil and gas production and a presumption against exploration, the UK CCC are adding their voice to the growing chorus urging the UK Government to end its plans to expand the supply of climate-wrecking oil and gas."

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"The UK Government must finally listen to science and scrap their plans to dish out more licences and approvals to the oil and gas companies who are hellbent on destroying the climate for their own profit.

“This advice spells out the benefits of ending UK oil and gas and the clear signal this would give to investors and consumers, helpfully highlighting that the best way to protect people from future exposure to volatile prices is to get off fossil fuels entirely.

“It also recognises the international importance of restricting the supply of fossil fuels in limiting dangerous warming to 1.5C and encouraging other nations to boost their climate efforts."

The UK Government has worked with the oil and gas industry to create a “climate compatibility checkpoint” for future oil and gas exploration licences. This is currently under public consultation but is regarded by climate campaigners as nothing more than a cynical attempt to greenwash expanding oil and gas production.

The CCC also advised that this checkpoint be applied to fields awaiting approval, such as Cambo and Rosebank. Morrison concluded: “No credible climate test could ever allow the production of new oil and gas.

"To provide certainty for the industry and live up to our climate commitments, the UK Government must immediately stop new oil and gas, and instead begin a managed phase-out of existing fields while ensuring a just transition for affected workers and communities.”