Climate Minister Graham Stuart has defended the Government’s decision to lift the ban on fracking, claiming the extraction of shale gas in England will be ‘good’ for the environment.
During a committee hearing, Stuart claimed “extreme green groups love to paint us as villains” on net zero, in a debate over the UK’s use of fossil fuels.
Stuart was also defending the government’s decision to licence new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea. This was despite researchers from the Global Energy Monitor (GEM) stating this would be “radically at odds” with the UK’s commitments to fight climate change.
But Stuart insisted the move was “compatible” with climate targets.
Stuart, who is also the Tory MP for Beverley and Holderness, said the UK imports around 55 per cent of its gas and is reliant on shipments of liquified natural gas. But using gas produced domestically generates around half the emissions, as it does not require chilling to -162ºC, shipping thousands of miles and regasifying, he added.
The exchange came as Mr Stuart answered questions about the government’s energy polices from MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee.
Prime Minister Liz Truss wants to expand UK production of fossil fuels in an attempt to increase energy supplies and lower bills, to combat the global economic crisis.
Stuart told the committee the UK would still be burning gas in 2050, when the country is committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions. Stuart also repeated his claim that granting new oil and gas licences was “good for the environment” after being asked if banning fracking in 2019 was a mistake.
The Climate Minister argued production emissions from extracting oil and gas in the North Sea were lower than those associated with imported fossil fuels.
A 2020 report by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) found the production of natural gas from the UK created less than half the emissions of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG).
But climate scientists remain adamant on there being no new fossil fuel projects to have any chance of keeping global temperature rises under 1.5C.
Among those to express this view have been both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global body for climate science, and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Anti-fracking campaigners have repeatedly raised concerns about the environmental impact of extracting the fossil fuel gas and highlighted research which shows that fracking can cause earthquakes and contaminate groundwater supplies.
Stuart said all operations must comply with some of “the most rigorous environmental regulations in the world”. But he also said it is not yet clear how much shale gas is held in the rocks beneath the UK and oil and gas firms need to conduct exploration work, before deciding whether they can run profitable drilling operations.
Labour MP Clive Lewis questioned Stuart if licensing further oil and gas exploration in the North Sea would “help us get to net zero”. Lewis cited a scientific study showing oil production needed to be phased out by 2034 to offer a 50% chance that global temperatures would not increase by more than 1.5C, adding: “It sounds like you’re peeing on our heads and telling us it’s raining.”
Stuart called his claim an “assertion”, saying: “Our production isn’t going to spill over into the global market, our production is going to fall faster than is required globally.”
Lewis argued “this government is going in the wrong direction on net zero”.
Stuart responded by saying the UK had “led the global negotiations” on net zero and argued the government energy policies were “compatible” with hitting the target.
“I don’t understand the point he (Clive Lewis) is making other than the fact he, along with the more extreme green groups, love to paint us as villains even when every available measure…”
Interjecting, Mr Lewis said: “We’re not trying to paint you as villains. We’re trying to get a truthful answer from you about the science.
“And the people that I have quoted are scientists. It’s science vs Trussonomics.”
