North Sea countries fail to align with pledges

The five major North Sea oil and gas producing countries are failing to align their drilling policies with agreed targets, posing a significant threat to global efforts to combat the climate crisis, according to a report.

The United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands are not on track to phase out their North Sea oil and gas extraction to meet the 1.5 C warming limit set by the signatories to the Paris Agreement or the COP28 decision to transition away from fossil fuels, according to the report by campaign group Oil Change International.

Urgent action is required from these countries to phase out oil and gas production by the early 2030s and transition to renewable energy economies, said Silje Ask Lundberg, North Sea campaign manager at Oil Change International.

“Failure to address these issues not only undermines international climate goals, but also jeopardizes the livability of our planet,” Lundberg said.

The countries bear significant responsibility for contributing to global warming and have ample resources to invest in clean energy solutions, Oil Change International added.

The report measured the performance of each of the five countries against nine indicators, ranging from stopping the approval of new developments and setting an end date for production to rapidly reducing demand and ensuring a just transition.

Norway and the UK were found to be the farthest from alignment with the Paris climate agreement, due to their aggressive exploration and licensing of new oil and gas fields.

Tessa Khan, executive director at climate campaign group Uplift, said the UK government was set on “squeezing every last drop” of fossil fuel from the North Sea.

“The UK is in a tiny club of countries that are driving this crisis, for such little public gain,” she said. “Most of what’s left in the basin is oil, the majority of which we export. New drilling won’t lower our energy bills one bit, it just makes oil and gas companies even richer. We urgently need a government that’s prepared to stand up to these profiteers and change course.”

Truls Gulowsen, head of Norway’s branch of the environmental group Friends of the Earth, said: “Despite having all the tools in the world to ensure a just transition, our government’s choice is to continue to be Europe’s most aggressive oil and gas explorer. This is completely out of place, and totally unaligned with the Paris Agreement and our climate responsibility.”