Net Zero: Boris Johnson ‘wants energy prices to rise’ says expert
The Chancellor, who many have tipped to replace Boris Johnson in Number 10, has reportedly called for the licenses to be fast-tracked. Mr Sunak is said to have asked Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to do so as the Prime Minister’s net zero targets sparked fears that the economy will suffer. Mr Johnson had come up with a “10-point plan for a green industrial revolution” to ensure that the country would achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
The plan claimed to support up to 250,000 green jobs and promised to mobilise £12billion of government investment.
But Mr Sunak’s desire to U-turn back to fossil fuels may have signalled the emergence of a Tory civil war.
The six oil and gas locations are now expected to get approved by Britain’s oil and gas regulator so construction of rigs in the North Sea can begin.
The Telegraph reports that ministers have already dished out preliminary licenses.
The oil and gas fields pinpointed for production are all based in the North Sea.
Sunak appears to be turning his back on Mr Johnson’s green plans (Image: Getty )
Kwasi Kwarteng was asked to fast-track the oil and gas licenses (Image: Getty )
They include fields at Rosebank, Catcher, Mairgold, Brodick and Jackdaw sites.
Approval by the Oil and Gas Authority for another site, Tolmount East, was intended last year, but that is now expected for 2022.
The combined reserves of the six sites have 62 million tonnes of oil equivalent fuel which can reportedly power all of Britain for six months.
This comes as global gas prices have skyrocketed to record highs amid a Russian gas squeeze that has sent energy bills soaring.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of deliberately slashing the volumes of gas travelling into Europe to speed up the approval of a new gas pipeline.
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Energy bills have been soaring for millions of Britons (Image: Express)
While Britain does not directly import Russia’s gas, it does indirectly purchase some from the Netherlands and Belgium.
The integrated nature of the gas market also means that Britain has suffered as a result of rising prices worldwide.
And this was also not helped by weak wind that could not generate enough power for wind turbines, with some pointing to the unreliability of switching to renewable energy too quickly.
As winter persists, rising demand makes this even worse.
And now it has been confirmed that the energy price cap (maximum tariff on bills) will rise to nearly £2000 in April.
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UK’s major oil refinery sites (Image: Express)
This has raised the question of whether Britain needs to pay more attention to fossil fuels as the nation transitions to net zero.
A Whitehall source told The Daily Telegraph: “The Business Secretary is pushing for more investment into the North Sea while we transition – not just for jobs and tax revenue, but for domestic energy security.
“Over the long term, we need to generate more secure, affordable, low carbon power in the UK to achieve greater energy independence.
“The more clean power we generate in the UK, the less exposed consumers will be to gas prices set by international markets.”
Last week, Mr Sunak was keen to encourage investment in the North Sea due to its wealth of resources.
Mr Johnson has played down claims that the Chancellor has not been loyal. (Image: Getty )
He said: “We’re going to need natural gas as part of our transition to getting to net zero.
“And in the process of getting from here to there, if we can get investment in the North Sea that supports British jobs, that’s a good thing.”
But environmental campaigners were not best pleased.
Jamie Peters from Friends of the Earth said: “The chancellor acknowledges that the energy crisis is a result of our dependency on gas, but then declares his ambition to unlock £11billion of investment in the North Sea.
“This is blatant hypocrisy after months of Government posturing in the run-up to the UN climate talks.”
This comes as tension between Number 10 and Number 11 has been soaring.
With Mr Johnson is being questioned over his alleged attendance of parties during lockdown, breaching his own Covid rules, Mr Sunak could step into the limelight if things get worse for the Prime Minister.
The Treasury held back plans for bringing down NHS backlogs, and is reportedly preparing to reject Mr Johnson’s calls to boost public sector pay.
But Mr Johnson has played down claims that the Chancellor has not been loyal.