Oil and gas ‘threat to climate targets’

Extracting the 5.7 billion barr e l s o f o i l a n d g a s i n f i e l d s already operating would see the UK miss its climate change goals, a new report warns.

Friends of the Earth Scotland said extracting that amount from oil and gas fields would exceed the UK’S share in relation to the international Pari s A g r e e m e n t t o l i m i t g l o - bal temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Industr y and government aim to extract 20 billion barrels, according to the study by Platform, Oil Change International and Friends of the Earth Scotland.

The report said that recent s u b s i d i e s f o r o i l a n d g a s extraction will add t wice as much carbon to the atmosphere as the phase-out of coal power saves. It also found that o p e n i n g n e w f i e l d s wo u l d nearly quadruple the emissions from UK oil and gas.

The repor t calls on the UK and Scottish governments to stop issuing licences and permits for new oil and gas exploration and development, and revoke undeveloped licences.

Mary Church, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “To tackle the climate emergency head on we must ban oil and gas exploration now, and redirect the vast subsidies propping up fossil fuel extraction towards creating decent jobs in a clean e n e rg y e c o n o my. R e a l c l i - mate leadership means making tough decisions now that put us on a path to a climate safe future.”