The UK needs to kick its dependence on fossil fuels by dropping plans for new oil and gas licences and the new coal mine in Cumbria, Friends of the Earth said this morning.
The organisation was responding to a report by government advisors, which accused ministers of being too slow to react to the challenges of climate change.
Mike Childs, head of policy at Friends of the Earth, said the government must do “far more to prepare for the growing impacts of the fossil-fuel driven climate crisis”.
“Ministers must also act now to help avert the worst impacts of climate breakdown by kicking the UK’s dependence on fossil fuels and ditching ludicrous plans for a new coal mine in Cumbria, and oil and gas licences in the North Sea.
“Accelerating the transition to a cleaner, greener Britain will create long term jobs, bring down our energy bills and cut the harmful emissions fuelling climate change.”
Major investment needed
The report, by the Climate Change Committee (CCC), concluded that a major programme of investment was required for the UK to prepare for climate change. But the CCC said the government had not defined its priorities:
“That uncertainty is preventing progress on appraising the country’s investment needs and closing the adaptation gap.”
The CCC said about £10bn a year would need to be invested in preparation for flooding, future proofing infrastructure and housing, public water supply and nature restoration.
This figure could rise further with more dangerous levels of global temperature rise, the CCC said.
Baroness Brown, Chair of the Adaptation Committee at the CCC, said:
“Our last major assessment of the UK’s climate risk found that climate impacts have increased in the UK but that actions to prepare us are not keeping pace.
“It is no secret that the UK is now experiencing a range of damaging consequences of climate change, but adaptation in the UK remains chronically underfunded and overlooked. This must change.”
The CCC said investment in climate resilience would reduce future economic damage caused by floods and heatwaves and could enhance growth and improve the sustainability of public finances.
It called for regulated industries, such as rail and water, to have updated mandates to increase investment in climate defences. The climate risk must be integrated into economic and financial decision-making, the CCC said.
The government is due to publish its next National Adaptation Programme in summer 2023. This should set out a vision of what a well-adapted UK would be like, the CCC said.
DRILL OR DROP? 
Utter rubbish – FANTACTICAL CLIMATE CHANGE PURITANS – scaring the next generation from Z onwards claiming the world is going to end imminently
ABSOLUTE BOLLOCKS
Better to get homegrown transitional fuels from uk onshore/offshore such as oil and gas then greenwashing LNG from abroad
until more reliable forms of energy come on stream such as hydrogen (which can be used to heat boilers and power cars using a fast pump just in the say way as petrol and nuclear to supply power
SOLAR AND WIND POWER ALONE – will not supply 75 MILLION POPULATION in UK and GROWING . The power cables through most streets will not hand the electric load if everyone turns to electric cars
well lets sell all the climate change fanatics banned from using cars and aircraft first, [Edited by moderator]
How do energy bills get reduced if the insurance policy for “cheap” unreliable renewables is £200B (new nuclear-which will be late and over budget because new nuclear has that built in) and the generation costs within that spend of £200B are horrific?? Goodness, most parents of a teenager have experience of the cheap car that turns out to have an annual insurance cost larger than the purchase price.
Long term jobs? Not exactly long term within the UK battery sector! But, certainly jobs within the Cumbrian coal mine, to be transferred from over the horizon, to pay tax in the UK and maybe even some donations to “charities” in the UK.
More of the same nonsense from FOE. Ignore the facts and preach to the gullible.
Never mind, it looks as if loads of rare minerals have been found in Greenland and under Norwegian seas to fuel the “green” revolution. Should add nicely to the destruction of the environment being created in other parts of the world to extract other minerals for same revolution. Rich pickings for many an environmental organisation for decades to come.
One extra “small” consideration. Apart from energy security how is the security of a country achieved without fossil fuels? By wishing for a no war future, or a return to bows and arrows? Good luck with that, but I would suggest it is dangerous foolishness that will lead to a populations demise a lot quicker than climate change.
Net Zero does NOT require zero fossil fuel.
How many more warnings do they need .
Depends on the warnings, Carolyn.
If anyone in UK believes any efforts in the UK will reduce the requirement for flood defenses or other environmental mitigations in UK, then they really need to be warned about the arithmetic. They have been previously, by the Chief Scientific Officer for UK, but what happened to that warning? Oh yes, “experts” who have admitted they know little about the subject suddenly decide that to explain that warning was to state it would have changed if the guy had lived! For how long, I ask? Until now when the evidence is stark, supporting his warning?
Meanwhile, no one in UK is suffering fuel poverty currently after all that investment into cheap renewables and no one is relying upon a windfall tax from the fossil fuel sector to be donated to them and alleviate the worst of the pain and reduce the excess mortality? Plus, with all the extra chunk of income being spent on energy by individuals and companies the economy will still be booming to fund salary increases so people can heat and eat?
Strange that 500k individuals are striking today in UK in disagreement with that.
Long term jobs-for whom? My local solar farm was built by a Polish gang who travelled over to do the job, and with parts from China. The housing estate next door that was authorised on another greenfield site as the solar farm had been allowed, was built by locals, but that reality should not be mentioned or the fact they created more use of fossil fuel through construction, and the heating provided being gas and less green fields to absorb rainfall but to increase runoff from paved “gardens”, and scarce wheat resources are diverted into petrol!
So much cynicism. If you have shares in that you must be a billionaire by now. There is no tiny sign in your comment of moving towards a position on the right side of history, ie survival of humans, plants and animals on earth. Oil and Gas have been heavily subsidised for so long, and known for so long that they are bringing on climate change by leaps and bounds. Its hard to imagine how people shouting or whispering support for O&G in their own interests can go on spreading propaganda when so much is now out there in the public domaine…..
In my own interest? But, there you are CJR posting courtesy of plastic!
There is no sign in your plastic comment of moving to a position that is affordable to the public and reliable.
As for 1720 with the usual distortion, perhaps address the comment rather than attempt silly childish games to change the reality so you are able to respond? You, 1720, may wish for no wars AS I DO. Sorry, but that moral high ground is not yours to look down upon others from. The reality is that is unreal, with a probability of zero, especially with no halt upon world population growth. I wish I may have unicorns dancing on my lawn, but that will not be possible either.
It really is so illuminating how far facts have to be distorted to make a point. Perhaps there is a clue therein? Especially from those who even have difficulty with defining what a fact is! Start at that point, and then the rest becomes somewhat more coherent. Invest to attract investment? Well, £200B is a tidy sum, 1720, of energy bill payers money that this Government have decided to invest. Then, there is the £50B+ to beef up the electricity distribution system. I don’t suggest either are not required, it is for others to ignore those facts and try and get the arithmetic to look better by taking them off the table and attempting to hide them when they are already in the public domain. Some of the public will have the sense to observe even before the bill hits the door mat.
I have not ignored any goals of Net Zero. I have repeated that Net Zero is not no fossil fuel. If some are gullible enough, as indicated 1720, to conflate the two then the problem is theirs. If they wish to support those who make a living out of so doing then it is their choice, but not mine. Group Think requires the “we’s” where their thoughts have to be decided for them. Concentrate upon them, 1720. I will be looking to see how the current transition manages to incorporate decarbonization of fossil fuel, being developed and funded by industry and Government (unknown to some it would appear) that would, and IMHO, will keep the baby in the bath.
WINDFARMS and SOLAR is a dead duck for UK and will never supply reliably 75M population currently and rising (thats up 50% compare to hydrogen when it becomes available
Transition fuels must include UK onshore gas and oil (whether conventional or fracking)
and the idea to switch 30m vehicles to electric is laughable considering the chip issue let alone the age of onstreet power cables and much of the archaic electrical wiring in properties
“Accelerating the transition to a cleaner, greener Britain will create long term jobs, bring down our energy bills and cut the harmful emissions fuelling climate change.” (FOE)
Martin takes exception to this common-sense statement using the inordinate expense of nuclear and the apparent failure of state and private investment to contribute adequately to the saving of our auto-motive industry via the Blythe project as though they negated the FOE claim whose goals Martin seems to reject. Sleight of hand, of course, as we’ve come to expect, the real failures clearly the result of this government’s effective denial of anthropogenic global heating in its favouring of its FF cronies and consequent unwillingness to invest to attract investment.
After this less-than-persuasive attack on the integrity of FOE, we are then treated to an assault on the mining of the minerals so-far required for renewable projects. How? By impugning the integrity of environmental organisations as a bloc and, once again, inferring that their implied rapacity invalidates their aims.
We are then told that fossil fuels are essential if we wish to wage war. But Martin, we do not all wish to wage war. Some of us consider such a desire to be the worst possible manifestation of human depravity detracting from our status as human beings.
More of the same nonsense from Martin. Ignore the facts and preach to the gullible.
Putin has changed everything. Energy security must now be the be the number 1 priority of this and any government going forwards. We now need to exploit all of our natural resources. We need to do it quickly and we need to do it profitably and for the benefit of our once glorious nation. Otherwise widespread poverty will become the norm, food banks will become the norm the welfare state will be disbanded and and the NHS will become unaffordable and will be scrapped. These are the choices for the 21st century UK
Agree William.
There is a good model across the North Sea to observe, where the choices have been made for the 21st century-Norway. Different choices, ironically from a leftish Government, but with little evidence of the aspects in your second to last sentence.
Meanwhile, those who spouted nonsense about stranded assets a few months ago, are to be believed now?? More spouting will be done now about “obscene” profits, whilst the “obscene” profits from Pfizer will be ignored. Simples-if one wants to live then the money is paid. Perhaps that may indicate price elasticity rather than foolish comments about stranded assets? The reason prices are high is that exploration was cut during the pandemic and there are not enough assets as a result to manage the Russian situation.
Mind you, the same can be applied to the IMF forecasts, which morphed to fact within 30 minutes on the BBC, and the track record of accuracy was not open for consideration! On the same day that forecasts were at epidemic proportions on the last day of the football transfer window, most of which had no validity just one day later.
Perhaps there should be concern about obscene remuneration for those organizations who get it wrong, time after time?
Oh dear! I should have realised that my comments would unleash several of Martin’s obfuscatory diatribes, – obfuscation no doubt the reason for his postings. I’ll refrain from the obvious responses.
Good luck to you Martin in your drought-, fire-, hurricane-, and war-ravaged el dorado of a world.
Oh dear! Once again 1720 wanders out to the end of the limb and is exposed, and withdraws -yet again.
However, others can note the failed attempt to distort my post in order to have something to waffle on about, even though it was very remote from what was posted. Usual nonsense from an activist. Can’t engage with the reality so simply make up something to suit.
But, no practical solution for how to stop such things as war, other than wishful thinking and virtue signaling. Not going to do it, 1720, but why break your habit and do anything different?
Oh how the Labour Party are heavily weighed by either side of the scales; What a bl**dy disaster, one says one, another says another!
A statement by Miliband:
https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/north-sea/480196/ed-miliband-labour-north-sea-oil/?
A stamens by Starmer:
https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/477013/no-new-investment-in-oil-and-gas-under-labour-starmer-confirms/