Thread by @AnneVelenturf

Extremely happy to see UK government tax mechanisms to cover #decommissioning costs being raised in @SkyNews Daily Climate Show. But as usual, somehow only half the story came out, so here is the other half for context! 🧵1/9

https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1426210064965251074

It is UK government policy to extract all remaining oil and gas from below the North Sea. This strategy used to be called “Maximising Economic Recovery of UK petroleum” published by @beisgovuk and delivered by Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) UK. 🧵2/9 gov.uk/government/pub…

Legally grounded in the Energy Bill, the OGA has “additional powers to maximise economic recovery of oil & gas from beneath UK waters” & “the ability to issue enforcement notices and financial penalties, and to revoke licences for clear or persistent breaches of the MER UK” 🧵3/9

In other words, should a fossil fuel company come to their climate senses, then they are still legally bound to keep extracting in UK waters or face fines. Obviously, this strongly diminishes the credibility the UK as a leader in #ClimateAction @COP26. 🧵4/9

A cynic would think that government/industry realised that maximising economic recovery was a bit too obvious anti #ClimateAction, and that it was in this light that #MERUK was superseded by the Oil and Gas Authority strategy this year. 🧵5/9
ogauthority.co.uk/regulatory-fra…

I compared the #MERUK and OGA Strategy and they are virtually identical. The aim to extract every last bit of oil & gas out of the UK Continental Shelf has not changed. Needless to say that extracting all fossil fuels is not sustainable! @IPPC_CH 🧵6/9
news.un.org/en/story/2021/…

It is within this context, that we have to understand why @HMRC gives fossil fuel companies tax reliefs on #decommissioning: it is to increase profitability of oil and gas extraction. 🧵7/9

The scale of “tax reliefs” could be far higher than the numbers quoted @SkyNews. The @NAOorguk estimated decommissioning costs of £45-77Bn but these numbers are prone to uncertainty. 🧵8/9 nao.org.uk/report/oil-and…

The UK government should take the scientific evidence about #ClimateChange on board and accelerate the #EnergyTransition away from #FossilFuels. ⌛️They should abolish the Oil and Gas Authority and its strategy before the @COP26!!!⌛️🧵9/9