Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of impact of the provisions in the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill on the environment.

The UK is the first major economy to halve its emissions and has more ambitious 2030 targets than any other major economy. Section 12 of the Impact Assessment published alongside the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill sets out how the environmental principles of the Environment Act have been taken into consideration in the development of this Bill.

Backing domestic oil and gas industry through the Bill will reduce imports with higher emissions and support delivery of the UK’s net zero targets as the UK needs to retain the skills, expertise, investment and supply chains of the oil and gas sector to support the transition to low carbon and renewable technologies.