New oil and gas extraction licences are alarming and meritless - Yorkshire Post Letters

I am still stunned by the recently announced alarming and meritless Government support for new extraction licences.

The PM claims that it will make us more energy secure and protected from dictators. In fact over 80 per cent of North Sea oil is exported, to help make the planet uninhabitable sooner from elsewhere in the world, while only 4 per cent of gas was imported from Russia, before their invasion of Ukraine.

And of course this new oil and gas will take far longer to add any fraction to energy security than would a quick and cheap switch to clean renewable energy and building insulation, which massively delivers and would reduce energy costs.

These things seemed generally accepted here at last, in line with countries taking the internationally agreed actions in this crisis, around the world - who now as I hear look on us in sad amazement.

Carbon capture and storage development (at taxpayers' expense by the way, not the extractors') is put up at the same time as a kind of unquantified offset scheme for some later date. Its success over many years has been patchy and disappointing.

As for the assertion batted back to all the shock and concern at the announcement, that net zero will still be achieved by 2050 despite this - let's just say the evidence for that is awaited.

I really don't believe that our PM is stupid and have heard that £3.5m was given last year to the Conservative Party/MPs from sources linked to climate change denial, fossil fuels and high pollution industries - but couldn't believe that my grandchildren's future could be wrecked quite so cheaply.

So looking further afield brings more illumination: the London Economic reports that Rishi Sunak's wife's family firm signed just two months ago a billion dollar deal with BP, a major North Sea oil beneficiary.

If the PM has genuine faith in carbon capture technology to produce more than a fig leaf for boosted emissions, why doesn't he seek to regulate for the oil and gas corporations to dig modestly in their stratospheric proceeds, to store underground a tonne of carbon for every tonne their activity produces, as climate scientists have suggested? I won't hold my breath on that one.

Labour says it will grant no new licences though will not revoke the 100 new ones, presumably due to the cost and legal implications of unravelling contracts. I would hope they are in power as soon as possible, as the only party likely to get elected that has a rational alternative to the madness induced by the oil/gas industry capture of our current government.