Today the Government are publishing new guidance relating to offshore environmental impact assessments. The guidance sets a world-leading example by ensuring the full effects of fossil fuel extraction on the environment are recognised in consenting decisions. The ruling means that North sea developers must, for the first time, consider the impact of burning the extracted oil and gas in their environmental impact assessments.
The Government have acted decisively to respond to the independent Supreme Court, which ruled before this Government took office that the global environmental effects of burning oil and gas are an inevitable consequence of extraction projects. Offshore developers will, from now, be able to submit their applications for consent to develop already licensed fields, a process which has been on pause since the Supreme Court ruled in the Finch case.
The reopening of the consenting regime brings greater clarity for Britian’s oil and gas sector, as the Government continue their work with the industry to build a clean energy future for the North sea. It comes as last week’s spending review confirmed £9.1 billion for carbon capture and storage projects, marking a major step forward in the Government’s mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower that will drive economic growth, create jobs and deliver the Government’s plan for change.
We have moved as quickly as possible to finalise this guidance, while taking the time necessary to carefully account for the substantial amount of feedback we received in consultation with a range of stakeholders, including industry, NGOs, academia and members of the public.
The new guidance is aimed at applications for projects in North sea oil and gas fields that are already licensed. As with the nationally significant infrastructure projects regime, Ministers will, on the advice of officials, consider the significance of a project’s environmental impact while taking into account and balancing relevant factors on a case-by-case basis, such as the potential economic impact and other implications of the project. Developers should therefore consider their projects in the context of the Government’s overarching objectives, including the objectives for the North sea’s energy future, which were set out in the consultation on building the North sea’s energy future.
The North Sea Transition Authority’s independent consenting role is unchanged by the publication of this guidance. It will continue to evaluate consent applications on their individual merits in accordance with relevant regulatory requirements. Licensing is similarly unaffected by the publication of this guidance. The Government have consulted separately on their commitment not to issue new licences to explore new fields as part of their consultation on the North sea’s energy future. A Government response to that consultation will be issued later this year.
This Government are determined to secure a prosperous future for the North sea and we are working in lockstep with industry to unleash private investment, helping to create thousands of jobs in clean energy to boost our energy independence as part of a phased and responsible transition.
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