Jeremy Hunt has been criticised by the head of the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) over his assurances that the government can still meet its climate targets while allowing companies to extract more oil and gas from the North Sea.
Piers Forster, the interim chair of the CCC, publicly challenged the chancellor on Sunday, after Hunt used predictions made by the committee to defend his government’s oil and gas licensing bill. MPs will vote on the bill on Monday, with several Conservative MPs likely to team up with Labour in voting against it.
Hunt told BBC’s Today programme on Saturday: “The independent panel for climate change that we have for this country are very clear that even when we reach net zero in 2050 we will still get a significant proportion of our energy from fossil fuels, and domestic oil and gas is four times cleaner than imported oil and gas.”
Forster responded to Hunt’s comments on Sunday, tweeting: “Our earlier advice is still current. UK oil and gas consumption needs to fall by over 80% to meet UK targets. This and Cop decision makes further licensing inconsistent with climate goals.” Forster was referencing the Cop28 climate conference decision to transition away from fossil fuels, to which the UK has signed up.
The independent body is not the source of the claim, as suggested by Hunt, that UK gas is four times cleaner than imported gas. This figure comes from the oil and gas industry and has been disputed because it does not account for the emissions caused by burning gas, which account for nearly all of its carbon footprint.
The CCC has previously advised against exploring for new fossil fuels, saying: “An end to UK exploration would send a clear signal to investors and consumers that the UK is committed to the 1.5C global temperature goal.”
The public row between Hunt and Forster comes days after Chris Skidmore, the former Conservative minister, announced he was resigning as an MP over the issue of oil and gas licensing.
Skidmore said in his resignation letter: “I can no longer condone nor continue to support a government that is committed to a course of action that I know is wrong and will cause future harm. To fail to act, rather than merely speak out, is to tolerate a status quo that cannot be sustained.”
Hunt said on Saturday: “It’s very sad to lose a respected colleague like Chris Skidmore … but I do profoundly disagree with the reasons that he gave for resigning.”
However, other Tory MPs have been less diplomatic in their criticism of Skidmore. Damian Green, the former de facto deputy prime minister, said: “I’m pretty appalled by [Skidmore’s decision]. I’m disappointed that Chris has done that. His seat’s abolished, he was standing down anyway. This is a wholly unnecessary byelection.” Liam Fox, the former defence secretary, called the resignation “self-indulgent” and “disloyal”.
But Forster praised Skidmore for his work on green energy, calling his recent review of net zero “impressive, timely and much needed”.
This is not the first time the government has been accused of misrepresenting its independent climate advisory body. Last year, scientists spoke out after energy secretary Claire Coutinho wrongly claimed that the CCC stated that a quarter of the UK’s energy would need to come from fossil fuels by 2050. The CCC confirmed it had never made such a statement.
The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has also been asked to stop misrepresenting the CCC after wrongly suggesting it had advised the government to implement a meat tax and car-sharing scheme.
The Treasury has been contacted for comment.
