‘Dark day for life on earth’: Chris Packham hits out at plans to expand North Sea oil and gas licences

Chris Packham has urged Labour to stick by its Ulez expansion plans in London (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

Rishi Sunak’s decision to grant more North Sea oil and gas licences marked a “dark day for life on earth”, the renowned naturalist Chris Packham has said in a blistering attack on the prime minister’s climate plans.

Mr Packham, a photographer, author and TV presenter who was given a CBE in 2019 for services to nature conservation, also claimed the prime minister had made a “mistake” by pumping billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money into carbon capture technology instead of renewable energy to tackle global warming.

On a visit to Scotland on Monday, Mr Sunak announced he would grant 100 new oil and gas exploration licences, sparking criticism from climate campaigners who said the move would “send a wrecking ball through the UK’s climate commitments”.

But the prime minister, who has also announced the UK government will support carbon capture projects in northeast Scotland and the Humbber, insisted his plans were “entirely consistent” with achieving net zero.

Asked if he was happy about the PM’s announcement, which came following a sweltering heatwave and multiple wildfires across Europe, Mr Packham said: “Sadly I’m not.”

Mr Packham said the decision to expand operations in the North Sea flew in the face of advice from climate scientists, the United Nations and the government’s own climate change committee.

“All of the world’s leading climate scientists … have told us without any ambiguity that our job now is to keep fossil fuels in the ground, not to issue licences for more exploration and then the potential exploitation of those fossil fuels,” he said.

“Carbon capture technology is very much in its infancy and the two projects that the prime minister is saying that he’s going to put our public money into are projects that have been set up by the fossil fuel industry themselves. They have shown scant regard for integrity when it comes to investing in these sorts of projects to date.”

Carbon capture technology aims to capture carbon released by burning fossil fuels and store it in a way that does not affect the environment.

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The government believes the carbon capture and storage industry could support 50,000 jobs in Britain by 2030. Mr Sunak said the carbon capture and storage industry would play a “crucial” role in Britain’s energy transition.

But critics fear the technology will be used by the oil and gas industry as an excuse to slow the transition away from fossil fuels.

Mr Packham came under fire on Monday from Tim Montgomerie, the editor of the Conservative Home website, after tweeting criticism of the plans.

The BBC presenter had told his followers to screenshot a post by energy security minister Grant Shapps advertising the plans for more oil and gas licences.

He wrote: “Keep it handy [for] when food prices soar, water-wars break out, your house burns down, your business is washed away, polar bears are extinct or in a few years’ time when a desperate and angry young person asks you who was responsible for killing their world…”

But Mr Montgomerie suggested that the UK’s efforts to tackle climate change would be in vain without China significantly reducing its emissions.

“Does Mr Packham know that we could hit net zero tmrw but if China burns even more coal etc any UK action will be futile? And what’s he DOING at any personal risk about global dictators that pollute?” he wrote on Twitter.

“This BBC ‘star’ appears simplistic, unworldy, ignorant of who emits or/and is a coward about meaningfully confronting likes of Xi. I fear all four weaknesses apply.”

Rishi Sunak said he wanted to ‘max out the opportunities that we have in the North Sea’ for oil and gas development (Euan Duff/PA)

Defending his decision, Mr Sunak, who was told by the climate change committee last month that the UK had “lost its clear global leadership position” on climate change, said granting the new licences was the “right thing to do” because it would make the UK less dependent on other countries for its supplies of oil and gas, “boost jobs and grow the economy.”

Labour has promised to block new oil and gas developments if it wins power, saying it would focus instead on investments in renewable sources such as wind and nuclear power.

Green groups rounded on the government over the new oil and gas licences, accusing ministers of “pouring fuel on the fire”.

Environmental think tank the IPPR said by planning to “max out” the North Sea the government had “abandoned any pretence of climate leadership”.

And Oxfam’s climate change policy advisor Lyndsay Walsh said the decision was “wrongheaded” and part of “the government’s hypocritical and dangerously inconsistent climate policy”.

“Extracting more fossil fuels from the North Sea will send a wrecking ball through the UK’s climate commitments,” she said.

Greenpeace slammed the announcement as “a cynical political ploy to sow division”. Campaigner Philip Evans said: “Just as wildfires and floods wreck homes and lives around the world, Rishi Sunak’s government has decided to row back on key climate policies, attempted to toxify net zero, and recycled old myths about North Sea drilling.”