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Offshore Industry: Licensing

Question for Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

UIN 19307, tabled on 19 March 2024

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the judgement of the Oslo District Court in case number 23-099330TVI-TOSL/05 on 18 January 2024, if she will make it her policy to take account of the impact of scope 3 emissions on global temperatures when licencing new oil and gas projects.

Answered on

25 March 2024

Under the Climate Change Act 2008 we are required to follow international guidelines on emissions reporting, which require emissions from the burning of oil and gas to be accounted for in the country in which they are used. This is in line with guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Emissions from UK oil and gas extraction are accounted for in our legally-binding carbon budgets. This includes projected future emissions from new licensing rounds. The judgment of the Oslo District Court does not change this.