The government has won a debate on its legislation to require annual licensing rounds for new North Sea oil and gas fields.

In a vote of 293 to 211, the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill received its second reading. 

Several Conservatives have already said they would not support the bill. There was also opposition from beyond Westminster.

Extinction Rebellion, Scientist Rebellion, Just Stop Oil and Fossil Free London held a protest outside parliament earlier today.

Four Northern Mayors urged the government to drop the bill, saying it would lock the UK into decades of fossil fuel dependency.

And a report by leading economists said investment in unsustainable economies, like North Sea oil and gas, risked stranded assets.

Debate

The UK energy security secretary , Claire Coutinho, has previously admitted that new North Sea oil would not bring down house energy bills. Today she said the bill would improve energy security and secure jobs.

She said it was also compatible with UK climate policy:

“If the thing that you care about is making sure that we reduce emissions, the question that everybody in this chamber needs to answer is why would you want to import fuel with higher emissions from abroad?”

She accused Labour and its energy spokesperson, Ed Miliband, of “putting the interests of extreme climate ideologues over that of ordinary workers”.

Mr Miliband said the bill would be ineffective and represented “climate vandalism. He said: “[it] won’t cut bills, it won’t give us energy security, it drives a coach and horses through our climate commitments, and it learns nothing from the worst cost of living crisis in living memory”.

Responding to Claire Coutinho, he said:

“it isn’t the scale of our problems that is apparent today, it’s the smallness of their response. A risible bill that she knows is not going to make any difference to our energy security.”

The Conservative MP, Alok Sharma, a former business secretary and COP president, said he would not be voting for the bill. He said:

“I do not believe, and it pains me to say this, that this bill will advance that commitment to transition away from fossil fuels”

He told the debate the “sole purpose” of the legislation was to “double down on grant funding more oil and gas production licences” and he did not “believe” that the bill would “advance that commitment to transition away from fossil fuels”.

He said it pained him to say the bill was “somewhat of a distraction” because “the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) can already grant licences annually or indeed when they think it necessary, and they’ve been doing that regularly over the past few years”.

With record global temperatures in 2023 and recent floods, he said:

“We really shouldn’t need any more wakeup calls to put aside the distractions and act with the urgency the situation demands.”

The Green Party’s MP, Caroline Lucas, said the bill was “entirely redundant”. Even the regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, expressed the “unanimous view that it is not needed”.

She said any new oil and gas would be sold on the international market:

“This oil and gas in the North Sea does not belong to the government and it will not bring down prices.”

It sent a dangerous signal to countries abroad, she said, by hampering climate diplomacy.

Earlier Ms Lucas posted on X that the government’s argument that the bill would deliver cleaner energy was “simply untrue”.

“We import most of our gas from Norway, where gas production is half as polluting as in the UK & most emissions come in the burning of the gas, not its production.”

Sarah Champion, Labour, described the bill as “illogical” and called for total ban on oil and gas drilling in marine protected areas.

Vicky Ford, Conservative, said she had had sleepless nights over “leaving the planet in a better state for future generations” but she said she was still backing the bill.

Wider opposition

Outside Westminster, four Northern Mayors, Andy Burnham (Greater Manchester), Tracey Brabin (West Yorkshire), Jamie Driscoll (North of Tyne) and Steve Rotherham (Liverpool), said the bill would not achieve the Government’s stated aims of improving energy security.

It would, they said, worsen climate change and undermine the UK’s international reputation while failing to lower household energy bills.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, called the Bill “a distraction from investing in the future of communities across the north of England” and “a complete insult”.

He said:

“While the country grapples with the wettest winter in 130 years – with devastating floods causing untold damage – the Earth just witnessed its hottest year ever in 2023, and increasing energy costs are piling pressures on household budgets.

“New oil and gas licences will not address these issues or take Britain towards energy independence, since what is extracted will predominantly be sold on the international market to the highest bidder.”

At today’s protest outside parliament, Joanna Warrington, spokesperson for Fossil Free London, said: 

“The UK Government’s Offshore Petroleum Licences Bill is nothing short of deadly. Pressing ahead with fossil fuel expansion plans in the midst of climate breakdown just makes us less energy secure and fuels the UK’s freak floods as more of our coastal homes drop into the sea. The government is making the interests they serve plain –  it’s oily millionaires burning our house down for profit. ”

Just Stop Oil said:

“On the day the government is voting to make it a legal requirement to licence new oil and even more dumping of carbon into our atmosphere every single year; Storm Isha is causing havoc across the UK.

“Two people have died, tens of thousands of people remain without power and Storm Jocelyn will arrive tomorrow.

“This government is intent on destroying our communities for profit. They must be removed from power if we are to survive.”

Pete Knapp of Scientists for Extinction Rebellion said:

“New oil and gas will do nothing to bring down our energy bills, or help with our energy security as most of the oil will be sold on the world market. New oil and gas is also incompatible with keeping within 1.5C. The government is either scientifically illiterate, is playing political games with our futures, or just doesn’t care, but, most likely – all three.”

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said the government’s promise to ‘max out’ the North Sea will result in new reserves equal to just 2% of the UK’s total gas demand between 2024 and 2050.

A new report by a group of leading economists criticised government for allowing continued investment into unsustainable economies. It said:

“Too much current investment continues to be in the unsustainable economy, such as development of new oil and gas fields in the North Sea and the construction of homes and offices that are not energy-efficient or climate-resilient – this raises costly risks. These include creating stranded assets, significant financial losses in polluting and emissions-intensive sectors, and an insecure, unaffordable and unsustainable energy supply.”

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