With the provision of a swathe of new oil and gas exploration licences and a crisis in offshore wind energy,
The Conservative government of Rishi Sunak in July promised “hundreds” of new licences for oil and gas exploration and production in the North Sea, arousing the anger of environmentalists.
“Opening new oil fields, I don’t see how that’s consistent with net zero,” added Jean Boucher, a member of activist group Extinction Rebellion and an environmental sociologist. Electricity tariffs that energy companies can charge have also been capped, leading companies in the sector to claim that offshore wind projects are no longer profitable.
“I know for a fact other companies are looking really hard at their licences and their ability to invest” in wind power in the UK, Michael Tholen, sustainability director of energy lobby Offshore Energy UK , told AFP at the Offshore Europe conference. NGOs, experts and companies in the sector are calling for urgent reform of the tendering process, for example by introducing a minimum profit for energy companies, as suggested by Dalhuijsen.“It’s getting the right framework and the confidence of the industry to take forward those investments,” said Bond.