RISHI SUNAK faces cross-party pressure to meet Cop28’s climate pledges and end the government’s approach to “max out” North Sea oil and gas.
More than 50 MPs and peers have signed an open letter to the Prime Minister urging the government to join the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (Boga) before the next international climate summit.
The members of the influential all-party parliamentary group on climate change (climate APPG) called on Mr Sunak to “accelerate action to cut emissions, protect nature and rebuild the UK’s unique political consensus.”
They stress that new oil and gas licences in the North Sea would provide just four days of gas supply at current demand.
Mr Sunak was implored “to show genuine leadership by championing a just transition away from fossil fuels in the North Sea, delivering on Cop28 commitments and making the UK an attractive country for clean energy investment.”
The letter, signed by Conservative MPs Pauline Latham and Tracey Crouch and former Tory environment minister Zac Goldsmith, issues a list of five key demands in what they say “will be a consequential year for global action to safeguard our planet for future generations.”
Their demands include living up to promises made at Cop28 last December to transition from fossil fuels and end the current approach to “max out” North Sea oil and gas.
They also are calling for a UK national biodiversity strategy and action plan and the appointment of a secretary of state-level climate envoy before Cop29, saying Britain is an international “outlier” for not yet having one.
Green MP Caroline Lucas said Mr Sunak has “U-turned on once-leading climate policies, approved the largest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea and weaponised green policies.”
Labour MP Afzal Khan added: “Instead of chasing after the last drop of North Sea oil and retreating from responsibility, the Prime Minister must honour our domestic and global climate goals to send a clear message to world leaders this year.”
Robbie MacPherson, secretariat lead for the climate APPG, said meeting the demands “would send a clear signal that the UK is ready to lead the transition away from fossil fuels.”
A government spokesman said Britain “leads the world in net zero” but tackling climate change “is a global challenge” and it remains “committed to continued collaboration with all international partners in tackling emissions.”
