Sun, 31 Aug 2025

Sun, 31 Aug 2025 Tories pledge to get all oil and gas out of North Sea

The government warns Kemi Badenoch's plans would "only accelerate the worsening climate crisis".

* If elected, her party will remove all net zero requirements on oil and gas companies drilling in the North Sea
* She claims that net zero measures mean households end up paying higher energy bills through increased costs
* The Labour government has committed to banning new exploration licences, which a spokesperson called "reckless" and would accelerate the climate crisis
* Badenoch's plan echoes US President Donald Trump's pledge to drill for oil and gas without restrictions on emissions
* The Conservative leader announced that requirements to work towards net zero are a burden on oil and gas producers in the North Sea, damaging the economy
* She said it was "absurd" that the UK leaves vital resources untapped while neighbouring countries like Norway extract them from the same sea bed
* Major energy companies such as BP have shifted focus to increasing oil and gas production to boost profitability
* Critics including Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron and Green Party MP Ellie Chowns say scrapping net zero requirements is irresponsible environmental vandalism and would not bring down energy bills.
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