Kemi Badenoch has pledged that a Conservative government would strip out all net zero requirements for North Sea oil and gas operators and focus solely on “maximising extraction” of fossil fuels.
In a speech in Aberdeen on Tuesday, the Tory leader is expected to promise that her party will “get all our oil and gas out of the North Sea”, dismissing emissions reduction rules as a burden on producers that drive up household bills.
“The UK is leaving vital resources untapped while neighbours like Norway extract them from the same seabed,” Badenoch said, adding that it was “absurd” to restrict drilling in pursuit of net zero targets.
A dramatic policy shift
The plan represents a major reversal of Conservative climate policy. In 2019 Theresa May’s government enshrined the 2050 net zero target in law, aligning the UK with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature rises to well below 2C.
Support authors and subscribe to content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.
Login if you have purchased
