North Sea oil and gas not the answer to UK energy woes – Yorkshire Post Letters Yorkshire News

The UK is hardly dependent on Russian supplies of oil (8 per cent) and gas (4 per cent). reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

However, UK production is small and would contribute little to efforts by other European countries to reduce Russian imports; and it would make no difference to fuel prices on the world market where UK production is sold, so it would not reduce prices for UK consumers.

Furthermore, the Chancellor has allowed big oil companies a large tax break on new investments in the North Sea but, since this investment can be offset against profits, windfall profits tax paid by these companies will be significantly reduced. .

Furthermore, the development of new fossil fuels would sabotage what little chance remains of keeping the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees and further bind the UK to a costly reliance on fossil fuels, rather than building capacity. for cheap renewable energy production that will also provide resilience and power. long-term security.

As Baroness Jenny Jones commented in the House of Lords: “In what world does it make sense to expand production of the high-cost fuel that threatens life on our planet, without doing anything extra to get more cheap green stuff?”

It’s not about keeping the lights on, as storage solutions are getting cheaper.

Nuclear power is a very expensive red herring.

For rapid increases in domestic generation, for resiliency, as well as keeping costs low, investing in renewable energy is the best option.

It would also free us from dependency on tyrannical regimes, whether in Russia or elsewhere.

Extinction Rebellion in Ukraine has been very clear in calling on all of us not to increase fossil fuel production but rather to accelerate the transition to a society compatible with climate stability.

Sacrificing our future and that of our youth is an unforgivable response to a current threat.

It is imperative that our government accept the threat we face and treat the climate emergency with the same urgency as the situation in Ukraine.