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 the potential impact of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill on the UK's ability to deliver on its commitments in the Climate Change Act 2022.

The Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 was passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly and applies only in Northern Ireland.

As set out in the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill's impact assessment, in the long term, it is not expected that total production emissions from the sector will be impacted by the introduction of a duty on the North Sea Transition Authority to invite applications for seaward production licences. The approach set out in the Bill is therefore consistent with the commitments set out in the Climate Change Act 2008, which applies throughout the United Kingdom.