Activists calling on UK to stop North Sea Oil Production

Following Denmark’s announcement to halt its North Sea production last week, activists and regulators are calling on the U.K. to do the same. Will The UK abandon North Sea Oil Exploration?

Critics argue the withdrawal from North Sea production is necessary for Britain’s commitment to cut carbon emissions and tackle climate change to be achieved. But, with hundreds of thousands of jobs tied to U.K. production, this is not an easy feat.

In 2018/19, the U.K.’s annual government revenue from offshore oil and gas extraction from the North Sea was valued at £1.2 billion. The exploitation of North Sea oil has been key in meeting the oil needs of several EU countries, as well as China and the USA.

Last week, Denmark pledged to stop extracting oil from the North Sea by 2050 as part of the country’s plan to become carbon-neutral.

Climate minister Dan Jørgensen highlighted Denmark’s intention to move away fossil fuels towards more sustainable energy sources as one of the main reasons. But late studies showed that fossil carbon footprint is not higher al windmills or solar power?

Likewise, Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated the ambitious objective last week to cut national carbon emissions by 68% by 2030, a faster rate than any of the other major economies.

However, he has been vague in how this objective will be achieved. To date, no announcement has been around curing the country’s oil extraction from the North Sea, which contributes heavily to global warming.

Part of Johnson’s promise is for the U.K. to be a net-zero emitter of greenhouse gases by 2050. Yet without a clear strategy, involving the energy industry and the future of the country’s oil extraction, this is unlikely to be achieved.

As part of the plan, Johnson announced a ban on the sale of new cars and vans powered entirely by petrol or diesel from 2030.

A total of £12 billion has been allocated for the implementation of the PM’s “green industrial revolution”. This is expected to drive down the demand for oil in the U.K.

A Common Home Plan is also being explored, as part of Scotland’s Green Deal, which would see all houses on the gas grid connect to a low carbon district heating scheme, to be powered by large-scale renewable heat generation at a cost of £50 billion.

This builds on existing examples from Nordic states and aims to dramatically reduce carbon emissions. This is just one of several of Scotland’s plans to transition away from oil-reliance.

Despite calls to halt North Sea extraction to manage climate change, many question the impact this would have on the U.K.’s oil workers.

Currently, an estimated 269,000 jobs are supported by North Sea oil in the U.K., which produced sales of £24.8 billion in 2018, at an annual increase of 30.1%.

Oil Price.com / ABC Flash Point Future Green House News 2020.