The oil and gas lobby is celebrating the current government’s plans to expand oil and gas production in the North Sea.This may be good news for fossil fuel profits, but it will be British households who will pay the price
With the energy bill passing parliament this week, this government has missed an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a clean, cheap energy system.At the same time there are We could see more North Sea oil and gas projects if it goes ahead, according to reports. But expanding domestic oil and gas production exposes us to rising global prices, reduces investment in cheaper green energy and accelerates the damage wrought by climate change.
Those lobbying to wring every last drop of water out of the North Sea like to claim that this will lead to lower energy prices for British households, but the truth is that it will cost households more, not less. Our oil and gas is sold to global markets, so producing more oil and gas in the North Sea will not lower prices for UK consumers. even greg hansThe then-government energy minister pointed this out last year.
We’re overly reliant on gas and it’s the main reason UK bills are soaring amid the cost of living crisis. CarbonBrief analysis shows Natural gas prices account for 96% of increase in household energy bills between 2019 and August 2022.
If we continue to depend on natural gas, we will continue to be at the mercy of foreign dictators and global shocks such as the war in Ukraine. Energy bills in the UK would be lower today if our government had acted green sooner.Delays in greening by successive Conservative governments have led to fewer onshore wind farms and dim and costly home insulation plans UK households’ energy bills to rise by £220 by 2023.
By awarding new North Sea licenses, the government is hindering progress towards domestic energy security, cheap and renewable supplies. Every pound invested in fossil fuel exploration invests in clean energy and takes us further down a more expensive path. Now, expanding our oil and gas infrastructure makes further shifts to clean energy more difficult and expensive. Oil rigs and pipelines will become an economic burden. Training fossil fuel geologists to work in a dying industry is a waste of money, an investment that could be used to train renewable energy experts. The sooner we act, the less money is wasted.
“Every drop of greenhouse gas we emit contributes to global warming and extreme weather. “
Climate chaos is bad for business. 2022 heat wave More than 3,000 people died, force our railroads to closeand fires across the country. Every drop of greenhouse gas we emit contributes to global warming and extreme weather. Allowing climate change to spread unchecked will cost us far more than the investment required to upgrade our energy systems. A London School of Economics Grantham Institute Paper 2022 Climate impacts are estimated to have cost the UK 1.1% of GDP (£27bn in 2022).this Office for Budget Responsibility 2021 Fiscal Risk Report Summarize: “The costs of failing to control climate change will be far greater than the costs of reducing emissions to net zero. ”
Instead of encouraging the extraction of fossil fuels, governments should invest in a green transition that lowers costs and limits the worst effects of climate change.To reduce our dependence on natural gas, we need great home upgrades – a renovation plan Reduce household energy bills by over £400 by 2030 and provide at least 190,000 direct jobs.To help those most affected by the current crisis, the government should increase the energy profit tax (and plug the loophole) to redistribute oil and gas companies’ surplus profits from high energy prices caused by the Ukraine crisis. To provide real energy security, this government needs to accelerate the rollout of renewables and invest in clean energy grids – the only way to ensure the UK has its own supply of cheap green energy for a long time to come.
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