Sir (Reading West) (Con):...The
Minister talked about raising the torch to inspire others. Once
again, will he please review the plan to issue these annual oil
and gas licences, and consider whether they are consistent with
the international commitments we have made? Secondly, will he ask
our right hon. Friend the Chancellor to urgently review the tax
regime that gives significant subsidies to new oil and gas
projects? This is a matter of trust. The Minister talked about
the voices of the most climate vulnerable; they will be listening
and watching, and they want to see action, not just from the UK
Government but from every Government.
The Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero (): I pay tribute to my right
hon. Friend for his efforts at COP26 in Glasgow, including the
significant measure on phasing down coal. [Interruption.] Could
the right hon. Member for Doncaster North () be quiet for one second?
He did so little in government, and he has so much to say now—it
is quite a contrast, is it not?
Returning to my right hon. Friend’s serious and respectful
question on oil and gas licences, as I said, we are a net
importer. We are producing our own oil and gas to ever higher
standards, and I am proud of the North Sea
Transition Deal which has seen the industry work
with Government to cut emissions from production by 50% by 2030.
My challenge back to my right hon. Friend is this: in what way is
there any linkage between producing to ever higher standards and
a falling level of oil and gas? New licences simply allow us to
manage the decline of a basin that is expected to fall at 7% a
year and to halve in a decade, and will see us growing our
independence from imports, even with those new licences. That is
why we are issuing them.
