Submission to the United Kingdom Consultation on Building the North Sea’s Energy Future

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that the UK must go beyond ending new exploration licenses to truly align with 1.5°C pathways. Key recommendations include ending development consents for new fields, closing loopholes for license extensions and transfers, and replacing the North Sea Transition Authority's 'maximising economic recovery' objective with one focused on a managed decline of production. IISD also urges the UK to join the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) to solidify its global leadership.

• Developing any new oil and gas fields is incompatible with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C target. Analysis from the IEA and IPCC indicates that existing fields already in production or under development are sufficient to meet energy demand in 1.5°C-aligned scenarios.
• To establish global leadership, the UK should become a core member of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA), which consists of 25 governments working toward a managed phase-out of oil and gas production.
• The UK government's current approach contains loopholes regarding license extensions, transfers, and subsea tiebacks that undermine its leadership potential and climate alignment.
• The government should end the granting of development consents for new fields, even where licenses already exist, as ending exploration licenses alone is insufficient to meet 1.5°C science.
• The North Sea Transition Authority's (NSTA) objective of "maximising economic recovery" is inherently contradictory to climate stabilization and should be replaced with a mandate to facilitate a managed and orderly decline of production.
• The government's proposed definition of "new fields" as areas without licenses is inaccurate; it should instead be defined as fields that have not yet received a final investment decision (FID) or development consent.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2025). Submission to the United Kingdom Consultation on Building the North Sea’s Energy Future. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/submission-uk-consultation-north-sea-energy.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Submission to the United Kingdom Consultation on Building the North Sea’s Energy Future. 2025. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/submission-uk-consultation-north-sea-energy.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Submission to the United Kingdom Consultation on Building the North Sea’s Energy Future |date=April 2025 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/submission-uk-consultation-north-sea-energy.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2025submission, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Submission to the United Kingdom Consultation on Building the North Sea’s Energy Future}}, publisher = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/submission-uk-consultation-north-sea-energy.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }