Government advisors have accused ministers of lacking leadership on climate change and sending conflicting messages on fossil fuels.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) said today:

“even in these times of extraordinary fossil fuel prices, Government has been too slow to embrace cleaner, cheaper alternatives and too keen to support new production of coal, oil and gas.

It criticised ministerial “backtracking on fossil fuel commitments” with the approval of a new coal mine in Cumbria and a new round for oil and gas licences in the North Sea.

In its annual report to parliament on government progress, the CCC said there was “a worrying hesitancy by Ministers to lead the country” to the next stage of commitments to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

Out of 50 key indicators, the government was on track with only nine, the CCC said. Eleven indicators were significantly off track and for 14 it was too early to tell, data had not been reported or there was no benchmark or target.

The report refers mainly to offshore exploration and production. But the CCC told DrillOrDrop the conclusions and recommendations also apply to onshore oil and gas operations.

The CCC said:

“Expansion of fossil fuel production is not in line with Net Zero. As well as pushing forward strongly with new low-carbon industries, Net Zero also makes it necessary to move away from high-carbon developments.

“The decision on the Cumbrian coal mine sent a very concerning signal on the Government’s priorities.

“The UK will continue to need some oil and gas until it reaches Net Zero, but this does not in itself justify the development of new North Sea fields.”

Lord Deben, the CCC’s outgoing chairman, said new domestic oil exploration and production would mean that in 10 years “we would be producing at a time when the world would be awash with oil”.

He said:

“Increases in UK oil and gas extraction would have, at most, a marginal effect on the prices faced by UK consumers. The best way to reduce exposure to volatile markets is to cut fossil fuel consumption.”

Lord Deben described climate change as “an existential threat” that was slipping down the political agenda:

“The battle to keep temperature increases to 1.5 Cis absolutely central and in the future people will ask ‘What did you do to stop this disaster?”

He said:

“I urge the Government to regroup on Net Zero and commit to bolder delivery. This is a period when pace must be prioritised over perfection.”

He criticised direct action protests by groups like Just Stop Oil:

“I actually do think that many of the extreme measures that people have taken have turned people off. I do not think it promotes the cause that we all have.”

But he said “a large number of mostly young people are concerned that their lives are threatened”. He said ministers “should learn from a generation that feels the government is not facing up to realities”.

“Lack of policies”

The CCC criticised the lack of policies to deliver the government’s Net Zero strategy. The strategy had to be revised after the High Court ruled last year that it was unlawful.

Despite more than 3,000 pages of new detail, the CCC said it was now less confident the UK would meet its climate goals from 2030 onwards than it was a year ago.

UK greenhouse gas emissions have so far fallen 46% from 1990 levels. At the Glasgow climate conference in 2021, a stretching 2030 commitment was made to reduce them by 68%. So, in just seven years, the recent rate of annual emissions reduction outside the electricity supply sector must quadruple.

On oil and gas, the CCC was concerned about:

• UK fuel supply emissions increased by 6% in 2022 to 33 MtCO 2e because of an increase in oil and gas production.
• Emissions intensity of UK oil and gas production increased between 2020 and 2022 and is off-track from the CCC’s pathway
• The scope of the climate compatibility checkpoint for new licensing remained limited and was not backed up by law
• It is unclear whether measures to reduce methane leaks would deliver savings of £.6 MtCO2e that the CCC says is needed by 2035
• The National Planning Policy Framework continues to encourage oil and gas extraction with a requirement to “plan positively” for the different phases of development

Recommendations

The CCC called for:

• A clear government position on exiting oil and gas in the run-up to COP28, the next UN climate conference in November 2023
• Stronger and clearer tests for allowing any further exploration and extraction of oil and gas
• A presumption against exploration
• Tighter limits on production
• More ambitious decarbonisation targets for oil and gas developments
• Redoubling of efforts by the oil and gas sector to cut emissions at source
• Greater clarity over the requirements for new oil and gas installations to electrify
• Stronger targets for cutting flaring and venting
• Treasury commitment to phase out inefficient production subsidies for fossil fuels that lock-in financial resources towards oil and gas extraction

Reaction

Mike Childs, head of policy at Friends of the Earth, described the progress report as a “damning assessment of the government’s new carbon reduction strategy:

“The High Court ruling won by Friends of the Earth last year, alongside Client Earth and the Good Law Project, forced the government to publish a revised net zero strategy in March after its previous plans were found to be unlawful. This report shows the government’s plans are falling even further short of what’s needed.

“The government’s advisors are also clear that the UK has lost its global standing as a leader on climate change by backing further oil and gas extraction and plans for a highly controversial new coal mine in Cumbria.

“There are myriad reasons why the government must accelerate climate action, not least because of the very real impacts we’re already witnessing such as record-breaking wildfires in Canada and a deadly heatwave in India. We also stand to benefit in the way of jobs, economic growth and lower energy bills. Despite all this, the Prime Minister and his government are clearly lagging well behind – they must take immediate action to get back on track.”