Westminster push for North Sea fossil fuels slammed by climate groups
Climate groups and environmental think tanks have criticised Westminster’s latest attempts to boost oil and gas production in the North Sea with more exploration and drilling.
Chris Venables, head of politics at Green Alliance, told City A.M. that the North Sea is a declining resource and that further projects on the continental shelf were unlikely to influence record energy bills this winter.
Instead, Venables believed more had to be done to reduce demand through energy efficiency measures, alongside ramping up solar and wind power to meet future energy needs.
He said: “The UK has already squeezed most of the reserves from the North Sea. Squabbling over the last drop when it’ll do nothing to reduce people’s energy bills or bolster energy security is a distraction from the solutions that can make a difference soon, such as better insulating people’s homes and expanding wind and solar power.”
There is renewed focus on supply security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, with Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss keen to boost domestic energy production to help secure the country’s energy independence.
There are growing fears of supply shortages this winter amid a Russian squeeze on supplies into Europe, with the Government even forecasting a four day blackout as an extreme worst-case scenario.
Brexit Opportunities Minister and Truss backer Jacob Rees-Mogg held meetings with big oil and gas companies earlier this week to discuss ramping up supplies from the North Sea and more deals with friendly allies such as Norway – as first revealed by City PM
A spokesperson for the campaign said: “Liz is dedicated to boosting our energy supply and doing so quickly – to help bring down the cost of energy and make us less vulnerable to global energy price spikes and malign foreign actors. She understands the need to get our infrastructure up and running quicker, and if elected will work in Government to this end.”
The UK has among the least efficient housing in Europe, with EDF estimating that the average insulation age of domestic houses is 46 years old, meaning their standards for insulation are in line with requirements established in 1976 – making them decades out of date.
According to new research from B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher, poorly insulated households will see their energy bills rise over £700 more than energy users living in more efficient properties,
This follows the price cap spiking 80 per cent to £3,549 per year from October.
The research compared potential hikes in households bills for houses with EPC ratings of D or below, compared to C and above – with A representing the most efficient households and F the least.
Households with a rating of D or below face an average energy bill increase of £1,730 per year in October compared to £982 per year with an EPC rating C or above.
Cara Jenkinson, Cities Manager at climate solutions charity Ashden, also believed there needed to be more of a focus on changing consumer behaviour as demonstrated across the continent – such as in Germany and France where they are cutting energy use in public buildings.
She said: “For instance, requesting that public buildings are not heated beyond a certain temperature and making sure lights are on sensors and other facilities and gadgets power-down when not in use. The UK should also put in place a nation-wide domestic, municipal and business retrofit programme so we are not locked into high energy use in future years.
Greenpeace UK also raised concerns over the continued focus on oil and gas in the North Sea,
It contrasted record low prices for offshore wind secured via the contracts for difference scheme with record wholesale costs, and the effect of gas on emissions.
Philip Evans, oil and gas transition campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “Gas is now a staggering nine times more expensive than renewables, and we know it wrecks the planet. So it’s absolutely unfathomable that the government is so fixated on gas, when what’s needed for households and for the climate are genuine solutions.”
Industry body Offshore Energies UK is set to publish a report next week citing North Sea Transition Authority data revealing the UK could have still produce as much as 15bn oil barrels from the continental shelf.
It has called for further exploration in the North Sea to boost supply security highlighting that 24m homes across the UK are heated by gas boilers, alongside 35-plus gas-fired power stations that produce around 42 per cent of the country’s electricity.
Currently, UK production makes up less than one per cent of global totals, meaning North Sea supplies would not be able to replace lost Russian gas flows and oil barrels amid a squeeze on European gas supplies from Kremlin-backed energy giant Gazprom.
It would also have minimal effect on prices in a global market.
However, OEUK believes further supplies would help shore up domestic energy needs, with the crisis expected to last for multiple winters, enhancing the country’s resilience to supply shocks in other countries.