KEMI Badenoch has pledged to extract as much North Sea oil and gas as possible — flying in the face of “impossible” Net Zero.
The Tory leader insists it is “absurd” to leave fossil fuels untapped and hold back the economy.
The commitment if she wins power creates a clear dividing line with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband in banning new exploration licences.
Her move follows the decision of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who said he would overturn the ban on “day one” if elected to No10.
Ms Badenoch will travel to Aberdeen tomorrow to set out her plans.
She said: “Britain has already decarbonised more than every other major economy since 1990, causing us to face some of the highest energy prices in the developed world. This is not sustainable, and it cannot continue.
“That is why I am calling time on this unilateral act of economic disarmament and Labour’s impossible ideology of Net Zero by 2050.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine has only underscored that our energy supplies are a matter of national security.
“So, a future Conservative government will scrap all mandates for the North Sea beyond maximising extraction.”
She added: “We are going to get all our oil and gas out of the North Sea.”
It echoes US president Donald Trump who has vowed to “drill, baby, drill”,
Offshore Energies UK boss David Whitehouse said: “Every barrel of oil and gas we leave in the North Sea is a barrel we’ll need to import.”
Meanwhile, Chancellor Rachel Reeves was urged to reform windfall taxes on oil and gas firms by trade body Offshore Energy UK.
PAKemi Badenoch has pledged to extract as much North Sea oil and gas as possible — flying in the face of ‘impossible’ Net Zero[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
