London wants to authorize new oil drilling in the North Sea
Oil rig in the North Sea, off Aberdeen, Scotland.
AFP - ANDY BUCHANAN
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The British government announced on Wednesday March 24 that it wanted to authorize new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, which is going badly with NGOs a few months before the United Kingdom's organization of COP26.
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The announcement comes as part of an agreement unveiled Wednesday with the hydrocarbons sector on the energy transition in the North Sea, which promises to only authorize exploration projects that would be compatible with the country's objective of being carbon neutral by 2050.
Hydrocarbons in the British North Sea remain strategic for the United Kingdom, since they are a source of significant tax revenue, help meet its energy needs and are a major provider of jobs.
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However, the government intends to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the energy sector in the North Sea, while protecting 40,000 jobs.
Oil and gas extraction in the region is responsible for 3.5% of UK greenhouse gas emissions.
The objective of the agreement announced on Wednesday March 24 is for the sector to reduce its emissions by 50% by 2030, thanks to investments by industry and public authorities of 16 billion pounds.
Environmentalists on the reserve
This reduction in pollution will be obtained by supplying oil and gas platforms with renewable energies, by CO2 capture and storage projects or by the production of hydrogen.
The government will also stop financially supporting fossil fuel projects abroad from March 31.
"
We are sending a clear message to the world that the UK is going to become a nation with clean energy
," said Kwasi Kwarteng, Minister for Enterprise.
But the environmental movements were not convinced.
For Mel Evans, from the NGO Greenpeace, refusing to give up new oil and gas permits "
is a total failure when it comes to being an example on the climate in the year of the COP26
", the climate conference organized next November in Glasgow.
(
With
AFP)
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