New oil and gas licences emissions could equal 25 Cumbria coal mines

NEW oil and gas licences in the UK could result in carbon emissions equivalent to 25 Cumbria coal mines, campaigners have warned.

If the government goes ahead with plans to issue new oil and gas licenses in UK waters, this would release up to 5.7 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions when burned. That figure is 25 times the emissions expected from a proposed coal mine in Cumbria, which attracted much controversy for the government [1].

Mel Evans, head of Greenpeace UK’s oil campaign, said: “The UK will make a fool of itself in the run-up to hosting the COP26 global climate talks if our Energy Minister signs off on new oil and gas licences that serve to rip up the Paris Agreement.

“We know the government has already approved too much oil and gas extraction to meet our climate obligations under Paris, and the oil industry itself says that we’ve passed peak oil demand.

“Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan must rule out granting any new oil and gas licences, and instead secure a smooth transition to renewables, to safeguard our energy sector and the industry’s key workers who keep it going.”

The campaigning group’s warning comes as a small group of socially distanced Greenpeace activists today placed posters opposite the government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, calling on Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan to stop new licences, retrain oil workers, and invest in renewables [2]. Greenpeace supporters will today send tweets directly to the Minister in support of the campaign group’s messages.

Ms. Trevelyan is under increasing scrutiny around the anticipated outcome of the government’s review into the future of the UK’s offshore oil and gas licensing regime. Questions on this may be raised during Business Questions on Tuesday. Since September 2020, BEIS has been conducting a review of how the regime relates to the UK’s climate obligations.

Campaigners have told the government that any future licences would not be aligned with the Paris Agreement [3], and would undermine the UK’s credibility as hosts of this year’s global climate talks, COP26.

Campaigners have urged Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan to follow Denmark’s lead and stop issuing new licences, or risk repeating the embarrassment of the Cumbria coal mine outcry.