Introduction

Two recent decisions by the UK government have ignited a conflict between the country's energy security objectives and climate change obligations. The first decision is the government's announcement that it will approve more than one hundred licences for oil and gas extraction in the UK's section of the North Sea. Following this announcement, the government introduced the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill to the British House of Commons on 8 November 2023 to increase the frequency of petroleum auction rounds in the country. The second decision concerns the government's overhaul ...