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Ministers will take into account the financial advantages of North Sea oil and gasoline initiatives together with carbon “removing” actions when deciding whether or not to grant consents, below steerage designed to keep away from courts overturning approvals.
The contemporary steerage issued on Thursday comes after a landmark court docket judgment final 12 months that faulted UK authorities for failing to weigh the local weather results of burning fossil fuels when issuing growth consents within the North Sea.
The power secretary would assess such results, often known as downstream emissions, by contemplating the federal government’s “general power and environmental targets, and the potential financial and different benefits of the undertaking”, in accordance with the steerage.
The doc added that proposals by corporations to reduce their carbon affect corresponding to by investing in carbon dioxide “removing” initiatives would even be thought of when the federal government guidelines on growth consents.
The language could possibly be useful to 2 huge oil and gasfields being developed by Shell and Equinor whose consents have been quashed final 12 months as a result of downstream emissions had not been thought of.
The choice rested on a take a look at created in a Supreme Courtroom case often known as Finch, which stated authorities wanted to keep in mind carbon dioxide emitted when shoppers burn the oil and gasoline produced.
Shell and Equinor at the moment are anticipated to reapply for consents for his or her respective Jackdaw and Rosebank initiatives within the wake of the contemporary steerage, which units out how oil and gasoline corporations ought to write environmental affect assessments when submitting functions.
The initiatives arrange Sir Keir Starmer’s authorities for a conflict with local weather campaigners, and threaten to jeopardise his tightrope method to North Sea oil and gasoline.
The prime minister needs to maneuver away from fossil fuels and plans to not problem licences for brand new oil and gasoline exploration within the North Sea, however has stated his authorities wouldn’t intrude with present licences.
Jackdaw and Rosebank have been each awarded licences and consents earlier than Labour was elected in July 2024, however some campaigners imagine the federal government ought to deny any reapplication for consent given the initiatives’ carbon emissions.
Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves have each signalled assist for the initiatives. Reeves instructed the Solar on Sunday newspaper in March: “We stated in our manifesto that they might go forward, that we might honour present licences, and we’re dedicated to doing that, and go forward they may.”
Rosebank is the UK’s largest undeveloped oilfield with estimated reserves of 350mn barrels of oil equal. Ed Miliband, power secretary, in 2023 — when Labour was in opposition — described the licence issued to Rosebank as “a colossal waste of taxpayer cash and local weather vandalism”.
Mel Evans, head of local weather at Greenpeace UK, stated the initiatives ought to nonetheless be blocked even below the brand new steerage, although she warned that factoring in carbon removing measures risked making a “harmful loophole”.
“Since Rosebank and different drilling websites will pump out numerous carbon whereas offering little profit to the economic system and no assist to invoice payers, they need to fail the factors ministers have simply set out,” she stated.
Evans added: “Ed Miliband was proper to say approving Rosebank can be local weather vandalism — he ought to stay true to his phrase.”
Equinor stated it was reviewing the steerage and was dedicated to advancing the undertaking. Shell stated it had spent £800mn creating Jackdaw to date and it was additionally dedicated to seeing it by way of. The undertaking “helps the federal government’s development agenda”, it added.
Underneath the brand new steerage, builders might want to set out how the emissions from burning their product would have an effect on international carbon budgets, together with the potential cumulative impact when thought of alongside different developments.
The steerage doesn’t advocate particular measures to mitigate emissions however says the regulator’s present view is that “emissions removals at present seem like most acceptable”.
Carbon might be faraway from the ambiance by direct air seize or tree-planting. The steerage didn’t specify which removing measures can be finest, saying solely they should be “excessive integrity”.
The steerage provides it’s “unlikely” that drillers may provide carbon discount credit they’ve purchased from others in mitigation for their very own emissions.
Power minister Michael Shanks stated the steerage would “guarantee a managed, affluent, and orderly transition to the North Sea’s clear power future, in keeping with the science”.
The article has been up to date to say Rosebank has estimated reserves of 350mn barrels of oil equal, not 500mn.
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