IEA Energy Analyst Andy Mayer has written for City AM criticising the new government’s ban on granting more North Sea oil and gas drilling permits.

Andy wrote:

“If there is an emissions case, it is likely negative. Imported oil and gas must be shipped here by diesel-powered tankers. The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) estimates this has four times the emissions profile of our own supply. But that will often be much more because developing countries use higher impact extraction techniques while also creating negative trade-offs on other environmental goods, due to lower standards on managing and avoiding the risks of pollution.

“Which leaves virtue signalling the UK’s intention to lead the world on net zero as the only real purpose of the policy. As with the Climate Act, the idea is that where Britain will lead, others will follow, and that eventually must have a meaningful impact on demand.

“But this is muddled thinking. Deliberately making ourselves poorer is a plausible path to net zero, but not an attractive one.”

Read Andy’s full piece here.