By Shadia Nasralla

LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain is facing a dilemma regarding fossil fuels. It can improve its environmental credentials by halting the development of new oil and gas in North Sea but it will be more dependent on imported fuel.

The COP26 climate conference will take place in Glasgow, Scotland. It will focus on Britain’s efforts to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

It has been difficult to navigate this route.

After Britain had enshrined their 2050 net-zero target in law in June 2019, Greenpeace activists steered Speedboats to a BP (NYSE) platform in North Sea waving a banner titled “Climate Emergency” to attempt to stop Vorlich’s oilfield production.

The process was stopped by neither legislation nor activism. In November 2020, Vorlich began production.

Major oil companies believe that new production could help manage decline. Campaigners, however, are insisting on an immediate halt of new projects through publicity stunts or legal action.

The government must, however, keep its lights on while it manages volatile energy markets and balances competing demands regarding how it will achieve its climate goals.

Bernard Looney, Chief Executive at BP, stated this month that if supply is reduced and demand does not change it will have one result and that is an increase in prices.

This has already been felt by Britain and the other European countries. The benchmark price for North Sea oil barrels has increased by more than 60%, and the benchmark UK wholesale gas prices have risen over 250%.

Europe has felt the impact of shrinking domestic production, rising imports and a growing fuel price. This year, the European wholesale gasoline price has risen by more than 350%.

Britain used to be able to depend entirely on oil and gas from its own resources, so it has had to import energy ever since 2005 when the North Sea output has decreased.

The nation’s gas storage capacity is now limited to a matter of days. Britain relies on supplies from Qatar and other countries for its daily needs. This leaves it vulnerable when markets tighten, such as now, with increased demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PRISE TO ACT

Activism says that the solution isn’t turning off the water taps, but reducing the domestic consumption of fossil fuels.

Philip Evans of Greenpeace addressed Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister. Evans has repeatedly pressed other nations to increase their climate commitments prior to COP26.

Evans stated that if the government wants to keep the lights on, there are ways they could reduce demand, such as improving home insulation and cleaner public transport, or investing in renewable energy generation.

A total of 70 scientists and academics wrote an open letter, published this week in Britain’s Independent newspaper. It called on Johnson to cease allowing new investment and licenses for oil and gas fields.

Some areas have seen progress by Britain. Britain is currently the biggest producer of offshore wind energy in the world, and continues to expand this resource quickly. It doesn’t mean that it can power your home on cloudy days.

There is increasing pressure to take action faster to limit fossil fuel usage. In a report, the International Energy Agency stated that the world must stop all new oil- and gas projects in order to reach the Paris climate summit goals of 2015. These targets aim to reduce global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (compared to preindustrial levels) by 2050.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a British minister of state in energy and clean growth said that the report was “pure”. However, the reality for nations is to ensure supply security.

Britain is not going to stop North Sea exploration. It has taken a similar approach with Norway, but not Denmark. Denmark has stopped new North Sea projects.

However, Britain is experiencing a drop in production. It now produces about half of its peak of 1,000,000 barrels per day (boepd) or 1% of the world’s oil demand.

SUPPLY SECURITY

Oil and Gas UK, an industry association has pledged to make the North Sea an operating net zero basin (OGUK) by 2050. It aims to reduce, capture, and offset all residual oil and gas emissions that are produced there.

In September, it stated that domestic gas production is cheaper and cleaner then imported gasoline. This was due to the fact that shipping fuel emits greenhouse gases and other countries have bad environmental records.

OGUK explained that “making the most of our indigenous resources helps meet UK demands and limit price growth. It also provides secure supplies with a lower environmental footprint than imports.”

The Oil and Gas Authority of Britain stated that gas from British North Sea produced by crude oil had an average emissions intensity of 22kg carbon dioxide equivalent per barrel, while import LNG was at 59kg.

Greenpeace and others argue these arguments overlook the point. Rather than trying to make fossil fuels cleaner, we must end using them.

In an attempt to press for quicker action they took their campaigns to the courts.

Greenpeace attempted to stop a BP gasfield license from being revoked due to its emissions in a case through a Scottish court. The action was ultimately unsuccessful.

Another case is that it seeks to stop development at the Cambo Field off the Shetland Islandes. This field was part of Royal Dutch Shell’s (LON:).

Greenpeace’s Evans said, “We have delivered Boris Johnson’s oil-stained 12-foot statue right up to Downing Street calling his out as a monumental climate fail.” Greenpeace can be expected to show them a lot more in the courtroom.