Jeremy Hunt is wrong about new fossil fuels

When will this government understand that we cannot afford any new fossil fuels, and that they will not bring the gains that Tories have claimed for them?

On Monday parliament is to debate the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, which would lead to an increase in domestic oil and gas drilling.

Former net tsar Chris Skidmore resigned on Friday, saying “This bill would in effect allow more frequent new oil and gas licences and the increased production of new fossil fuels in the North Sea. I can also no longer condone nor continue to support a government that is committed to a course of action that I know is wrong and will cause future harm. To fail to act, rather than merely speak out, is to tolerate a status quo that cannot be sustained.”

Jeremy Hunt has said he “profoundly” disagrees, and that “The independent panel for climate change that we have in this country are very clear that even when we reach net zero in 2050, we will still get a significant proportion of our energy from fossil fuels. “And domestic oil and gas is four times cleaner than imported oil and gas.”

As I explained in a previous article, this government does not understand net zero.

According to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), new oil and gas is not the best way forward.

According to the IPCC, offshore drilling is folly.

Ministers have previously touted increased energy security as one of the benefits of…