Rishi Sunak has confirmed hundreds of new oil and gas licences will be granted in the UK in a stark dividing line with Sir Keir Starmer.
The prime minister said he is backing the North Sea oil and gas industry to “make Britain more energy independent”.
And Mr Sunak said the new licences will cut Britain’s carbon footprint, as domestic production is responsible for just a quarter of the emissions of imported liquified natural gas.
Labour has promised to block new oil and gas developments in Britain if it wins power, saying it would focus instead on investments in renewable sources such as wind and nuclear power.
Alongside the new oil and gas licences, Mr Sunak confirmed millions of pounds will be invested in carbon capture and storage facilities in North East Scotland and the Humber.
The technology aims to capture carbon released by burning fossil fuels and store it in a way that does not affect the environment.
The government believes the carbon capture and storage industry could support 50,000 jobs in Britain by 2030. Mr Sunak said the carbon capture and storage industry would play a “crucial” role in Britain’s energy transition.
But critics fear the technology will be used by the oil and gas industry as an excuse to slow the transition away from fossil fuels.
And green groups rounded on the government over the new oil and gas licences, accusing ministers of “pouring fuel on the fire”.
Environmental think tank the IPPR said by planning to “max out” the North Sea the government had “abandoned any pretence of climate leadership”.
And Oxfam’s climate change policy advisor Lyndsay Walsh said the decision was “wrongheaded” and part of “the government’s hypocritical and dangerously inconsistent climate policy”.
“Extracting more fossil fuels from the North Sea will send a wrecking ball through the UK’s climate commitments,” she said.
Greenpeace slammed the announcement as “a cynical political ploy to sow division”. Campaigner Philip Evans said: “Just as wildfires and floods wreck homes and lives around the world, Rishi Sunak’s government has decided to row back on key climate policies, attempted to toxify net zero, and recycled old myths about North Sea drilling.”
Meanwhile a former energy minister said backing future oil and gas projects in the North Sea is “the wrong decision at precisely the wrong time” as countries around the world experience record heat waves.
Tory MP Chris Skidmore said: “”It is on the wrong side of a future economy that will be founded on renewable and clean industries and not fossil fuels.
“It is on the wrong side of modern voters who will vote with their feet at the next general election for parties that protect, and not threaten, our environment. And it is on the wrong side of history, that will not look favourably on the decision taken today.”
He said it was “worrying” that the announcement was made during parliamentary recess, with MPs “unable to hold the Government to account”. He is calling for an emergency debate on the announcement when MPs return.
Defending the decision to grant new North Sea oil and gas licences, he said that even if the UK reaches net zero by 2050, “a quarter of our energy needs will come from oil and gas”.
And taking aim at Labour’s plan to stop issuing new oil and gas licences, Mr Sunak said: “There are those who would rather that it come from hostile states than from the supplies we have here at home.”
He added: “We have all witnessed how Putin has manipulated and weaponised energy – disrupting supply and stalling growth in countries around the world.
“Now more than ever, it’s vital that we bolster our energy security and capitalise on that independence to deliver more affordable, clean energy to British homes and businesses.”
Labour’s shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband said Mr Sunak’s policy would “not take a penny off bills”, will not bolster Britain’s energy security and will “drive a coach and horses through our climate commitments”.
Mr Miliband said the plan would leave the UK “at the mercy of fossil fuel dictators like Vladimir Putin” and accused the PM of “economic illiteracy”.
The announcement comes after both Labour and the Conservatives have faced questions over their environmental plans in the wake of the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election.
The Tories’ narrow win in Boris Johnson’s former seat was attributed to fears over the cost of Sadiq Khan’s expansion of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez).
It put the personal cost of environmental policies under the spotlight, including the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel car sales.
The commitment for new oil and gas licences will “drive forward our energy independence and our economy for generations”, energy secretary Grant Shapps said.
Mr Shapps said in a statement: “In the wake of Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine, our energy security is more important than ever. The North Sea is at the heart of our plan to power up Britain from Britain so that tyrants like Putin can never again use energy as a weapon to blackmail us.
“Today’s commitment to power ahead with new oil and gas licences will drive forward our energy independence and our economy for generations.”
