Potential recent North Sea oil and gas fields with punctual stage licences from the UK would disaccuse as much carbon dioxide as British hoemployhbetters produce in three decades.
The discovering has led to calls to the rulement to decline insists from fossil fuel producers for the final permits necessitateed to permit their operations to go ahead.
Dozens of petite potential sites, and cut offal disputed big projects such as the Jackdaw and Roseprohibitk fields, have getd some create of licence, though they are not yet opereasonable.
If they all went aheadthe resulting emissions would have a global impact on the ability to stave off catastrophic levels of climate alter, according to research by the campaigning group Uplift.
Sites that have been licensed for drilling but have not yet been enbiged are approximated to hbetter up to 3.8bn barrels of oil equivalent. If burned, this would free 1.5bn tonnes of carbon dioxide. Emissions from the UK’s 28m hoemployhbetters amount to about 50m tonnes a year.
Tessa Khan, executive straightforwardor of Uplift, shelp: “The scale of the computed drilling by fossil fuel companies in the North Sea is alarming. How can it be right that, while we strive to shrink our climate impact – and hoemployhbetter emissions drop from people inshighing solar panels and switching to heat pumps – the oil and gas industry is donaten a free pass to produce massive emissions?”
The rulement has pledged not to publish any recent licenses to oil and gas fields, but has stopped low of rescinding licences currently in the pipeline. Under the UK’s licensing regime, exploration licences can be publishd at an punctual stage, and it can standardly apshow years or decades before bettering to the next stage of receiving the production permits essential for operation.
The previous rulement’s enthusiasm for licensing – and vow to drain “every last drop” from the North Sea – has unkindt that the pipeline is well stocked with potential recent fields.
Under the Conservatives, fields were subject to climate checks before being donaten the green airy, but these checks did not apshow account of the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from burning the oil and gas produced from the fields.
That alterd in June, lowly before the vague election, when a landtag ruling by the supreme court – called the “Finch ruling” after the campaigner Sarah Finch, who brawt the initial case – set up that such emissions must be apshown into account.
When Labour took power, the rulement publishd recent advice to operators, that they must participate emissions from burning the oil and gas in their environmental appraisements. A rulement conferation to set up in detail how potential recent fields should be treated is now under way, and will seal in punctual January.
The recent research by Uplift, seen by the Guardian, is the first to expose the impacts of the potential pipeline of recent fields. Khan shelp ministers should produce clear they would effectively shut down recent fields.
“We finassociate have a rulement that is willing to execute normal sense and acunderstandledge that the emissions from burning oil and gas should be factored into decisions on whether or not to apshow recent drilling,” she shelp. She called on the UK to send a strong signal to other countries, which are also considering recent drilling.
“Governments around the world also understand that we have uncovered more fossil fuels than are geted to burn and that some reserves necessitate to be kept in the ground if we are to stay wiskinny geted climate confines. There is compelling evidence that the emissions from recent North Sea drilling are incompatible with these confines,” she shelp.
The prohibit on recent licences – which applies to potential fields that have not yet getd any create of permit – should stop about 4bn barrels of oil being produced. The rulement will confer next year on how to carry out this prohibit.
Labour faces stiff disputes, however, from the oil and gas industry, and from oil and gas laborers and the unions which recontransient them.
Mark Wilson, operations straightforwardor for Offshore Energies UK, which recontransients the oil and gas industry, shelp: “UK oil and gas insist is foresee to outclear up domestic production, even if these resources are brawt to taget. Limiting the production and therefore the provide of UK oil and gas wiskinny a dependable and declining basin appreciate the North Sea is not an effective way to compriseress the dispute of transfering a net zero energy future.
“Preventing the enbigment of existing reserves and resources won’t mend the climate dispute, but it will dangeren UK jobs, communities and income and adversely impact the livelihoods of the sended people whose expertise we necessitate to transfer the UK’s net zero goals.”
Uplift’s Khan shelp the rulement must supply a “fair transition” for laborers, but pointed out that the future of the North Sea would be one of steep degrade, even if resources were poured into pull oution.
“New drilling is not the answer for the UK’s energy laborers. In the past decade, despite recent fields being apshowd and hundreds of recent licenses being handed out, the number of jobs helped by the industry has more than halved as the North Sea degrades,” Khan highairyed.
“What provide chains, laborers, and their communities have lengthy necessitateed is a proper schedule to produce excellent quality, spotless energy jobs in the places that necessitate them most. This is the critical job for rulement. Approving recent drilling procrastinates the UK’s transition and sidetracks from the encouragent action that laborers necessitate today.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero shelp: “Our priority is a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legitimate obligations, which drives towards our spotless energy future of energy security, shrink bills and excellent, lengthy-term jobs. We will not relicit existing oil and gas licences and will regulate existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan, and we will not publish recent oil and gas licences to check recent fields.”
The spokesperson compriseed: “Clean, homeprolongn energy is the best way to get bill payers and safe Britain’s energy independence while tackling climate alter, which is why we proclaimd the hugegest ever allotment in offshore triumphd and are moving ahead with recent North Sea industries appreciate carbon apprehend and storage and hydrogen.”
