There are some elements of the Bill to commend, not least the net zero duty on Ofgem, but overall it fails to deliver the scale of ambition we need or to set out a vision of an energy system free not just from Putin’s influence but from expensive and polluting oil and gas in their entirety. My amendments would address that failing.
New clause 29 would prohibit the approval of new oil and gas field developments and the issuing of new oil and gas exploration and production licences. I am sure that the Minister will seek to paint the new clause as somehow incredibly radical and the policy of Just Stop Oil, pretending that it would recklessly turn off the taps tomorrow. He will no doubt trot out the same tired lines about a quarter of the UK’s energy continuing to come
from oil and gas in 2050. In reality, the new clause is far from radical. It would simply do what the science tells us is necessary if we are to secure a liveable future for ourselves and our children and rule out any new oil and gas licences. In doing so, it would follow the advice of experts including the Climate Change Committee, which in its latest report was clear:
“Expansion of fossil fuel production is not in line with Net Zero.”
It acknowledges that while the UK will continue to need some oil and gas until the target is met,
“this does not in itself justify the development of…North Sea fields.”
Yet rather than heeding that warning, just one month later we had the former Secretary of State vowing to max out the North sea’s remaining oil and gas reserves. The Government re-announced 100 new licences and it was not ruling out the prospect of Rosebank.
However hard they try to obfuscate and evade, Ministers cannot deny the fact that, without additional abatement, the projected CO2 emissions from existing fossil fuel infrastructure would already exceed the remaining carbon budget for a safe climate. Any oil and gas extracted from the North sea belongs not to us but to multinational companies, which will sell it to the highest bidder on the global market. The majority of fossil fuel projects in the pipeline are for oil, not gas, and will do nothing to boost energy security, given we currently export 80% of the oil that we extract.
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New clause 30, which tackles head-on the frankly obscene duty to maximise the economic recovery of petroleum from the North sea, is an amendment that I would like to press to a vote. It is a legal requirement for companies to pump every last drop of oil and gas while the world around them burns. In the time of climate emergency, that duty has no place on our statute books. The clause would define a new principal objective under the Petroleum Act 1998 that responds to the escalating climate crisis, but which also supports a new positive vision for the North sea. Although it would require the phasing down of petroleum in line with the UK’s climate targets, it would also facilitate a just transition for oil and gas workers and communities and, crucially, would require them to be consulted in the process.
I turn to renewables. New clause 31 would require the installation of solar panels on the roofs of all new homes and, crucially, require all new housing developments to be planned to maximise solar gain, thereby unleashing a rooftop revolution to put power into the hands of households.
In the remaining time, let me quickly underline new clause 33, which would require the Secretary of State to publish an energy demand reduction delivery plan. The Bill before us focuses almost exclusively on supply, yet demand reduction is essential for our energy security and the transition beyond fossil fuels. The more energy we use, the harder and more expensive it becomes to decarbonise our supply. That is why I am very happy to support the amendments tabled by the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Nadia Whittome), who made a strong and impassioned speech in favour of energy efficiency and making sure that we can keep people
warm in their homes. I also support the Scottish National party’s statements on nuclear power, with which I wholeheartedly agree.