Final decisions on applications for oil and gas production in the North Sea should be made by the UK cabinet, the Climate Change Committee, an advisory body to the government on green policies, had said.
“Weighing these advantages is an inherently political decision, which goes beyond climate policy and sits rightly with government, not with my committee,’’ Lord Deben said.
Deben, the chairman of the committee, wrote in a letter to UK Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.
The committee spoke in favour of applying stringent tests for oil and gas licensing in the North Sea for several reasons, including cuts in fossil fuel consumption, planned by the United Kingdom under its Net Zero Strategy.
This was as well as the overall conformation of the country’s green commitments.
The issuance of new licenses for drilling in the North Sea would not help UK consumers deal with the energy affordability crisis, the committee had said.
“Any increases in UK extraction of oil and gas would have, at most, a marginal effect on the prices faced by UK consumers in future,’’ the letter read, commenting on a surge in energy prices.
In addition, the committee could not determine the impact of new oil and gas extraction by the UK on greenhouse gas emissions globally.
Besides, the consideration of the issue from the point of view of energy security goes beyond the remit of the committee, the letter read, confirming remark on the government being responsible for relevant decisions.
The recommendation comes after green activists and environmental groups made efforts to discourage the North Sea oil and gas exploration conducted by the UK government.
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