Lancaster MP "disappointed" in Government decision on Jackdaw gas field

Cat Smith MP

The Lancaster MP has criticised the government's decision to approve drilling in the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea.

Cat Smith said she was "disappointed" and said she was worried the controversial scheme would neither protect the planet nor cut energy bills.

The decision has sparked intense debate, with both our local MPs quizzing Michael Shanks, Minister for Energy, in Westminster on Wednesday.

Ms Smith, MP for Lancaster & Wyre, asked Mr Shanks what the decision means for the UK's leadership on the global stage on climate change.

"We are absolutely clear that tackling the climate crisis is an absolute priority for government, for our national security, for our energy security and for our children's futures, it is vital, and we need to do even more," he said.

"This decision today is about the transition period when we will need oil and gas to build in to where we go next. But that is not the whole story/

"To tackle the climate crisis we have to break the link with fossil fuels so we are not importing from other countries and driving up the climate problems for future generations to deal with, but we are actually having home grown clean energy here in the UK and we are already making enormous progress on doing that."

Ms Smith said afterwards: "I'm disappointed by the Government's decision to approve drilling in Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea.

"As an MP committed to tackling the climate emergency, I want to see action which not only protects our planet, but also reduces our energy bills through clean energy.

"As we transition to renewables, we will need bridge this gap with gas, but I worry that Jackdaw will meet neither of these requirements.

"I'm proud of the work done as part of my MP eco-forum with the local Greenpeace group, and with a meeting coming up soon I wanted answers.

"Whilst I don't accept the view that this is a necessary part of the transition to home-grown renewable energy security, I do welcome the Minister's reply on how we must tackle the climate crisis by breaking the link with fossil fuels and a reliance on imported oil."

Lizzi Collinge, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, (below) also asked Mr Shanks what impact Jackdaw gas will have on emissions and for reassurance that the decision will not "impact on the speed or scale of the low carbon energy transition".

Mr Shanks replied: "I can give that assurance. The amount of gas that will come on shore from this is about fiver per cent of our production, about six per cent of the peak of production coming into the UK supply. This decision will not change the fact that the country 20 years ago became a net importer of fossil fuels.

"I can absolutely give assurance that this decision doesn't move us away at all from (our) commitments.

"In fact the £2bn committed from the revenues for this will help us turbocharge that investment in clean energy."

Ms Collinge afterwards: "Today the Government has approved the Jackdaw gas field following a rigorous, legally compliant assessment of its carbon footprint.

"The evidence shows that homegrown gas from Jackdaw carries a lower carbon footprint than importing high-carbon LNG from abroad, making it a pragmatic bridge while 80 per cent of UK households still rely on gas.

"However, while this supports energy security, it will not lower energy bills. The only way to bring bills down permanently is to decouple our electricity system from international gas markets through renewables."

After approving production from the Jackdaw gas field, around 150 miles east of Aberdeen, ministers said the first gas could be produced by the end of this month, helping heat millions of homes, and also announced the creation of a new energy wealth fund.

But environmental campaigners said the decision would hamper efforts to tackle climate change and make "no meaningful difference" to UK energy security.

Co-leader of the Scottish Greens, Ross Greer, described the approval as "climate vandalism".

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the prime minister of "dithering" on Jackdaw and said a ban on new oil and gas licences should be repealed but Prime Minister Andy Burnham said her party had "messed up" the original decision.

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