UK announces 100 oil and gas exploration licenses

The approval announced by the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, of around 100 new licenses for gas and oil exploration in the North Sea represents for some environmental groups the sending of “a wrecking ball” against the environmental pacts that are being advanced in the country, reports The Guardian.

In addition, Sunak said he will undertake future rounds of licensing, despite warnings from environmentalists and scientists about the incompatibility of new fossil fuel projects with the goals of Net Zero, a project that seeks to reduce carbon levels in all areas. sectors of the British economy by 2050.

“Even when we reach Net Zero in 2050, a quarter of our energy needs will still come from oil and gas, and domestic gas production has about a quarter or third of the carbon footprint of imported gas,” argued the Prime Minister.

Likewise, he assured that his Administration continues with the commitment to prohibit the sale of new gasoline and gas cars by 2030 as part of the Net Zero objectives.

«This is, overall, a good story for the UK. “It’s not about political seats, it’s about doing the right thing for the country,” Sunak added.

Climate debacle

Environmental and scientific groups assure that the exploration and exploitation of gas and oil in the North Sea is a setback in ecological matters. “Extracting more fossil fuels from the North Sea will send a wrecking ball through climate commitments,” said Lyndsay Walsh, Oxfam’s climate policy advisor, quoted by The Guardian.

For his part, Chris Skidmore, former science minister and green policy advocate for the British Conservative Party, called the new exploration licenses a “wrong decision at precisely the wrong time, when the rest of the world is experiencing record heat waves.” ».

Meanwhile, the Labor party commits, if it comes to power, to invest in renewable energy sources such as wind and nuclear, in addition to stopping hydrocarbon exploration in the North Sea. With RT

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