Ministers defend energy profits ahead of No 10 meeting with energy giants

Rishi Sunak yesterday insisted his plans to “max out” the country’s fossil fuel reserves were sensible following his announcement of 100 new licences for extraction in the North Sea.

The Prime Minister dismissed concerns as he was warned watering down policies to tackle the climate crisis are on the “wrong side of modern voters”.

“And it’s actually better for carbon emissions because if we have to ship that energy here from halfway around the world it would have three or four times the carbon emissions by the time it got here,” he told broadcasters during a visit to a beer festival in London.

The move was previously criticised by Chris Skidmore, the Tory MP who led the Government’s net zero review, as “on the wrong side of history”.

Yesterday BP announced that it had made around £2 billion pounds in profit over the three months to the end of June, which despite being over two-thirds lower than last year’s results, prompted further criticism of the amount that oil and gas companies are making during the cost of living crisis.

“These figures demonstrate the continuing scandal of the Tory failure to act on the windfalls of war being pocketed by the oil and gas producers,” said Ed Miliband, Labour’s shadow climate secretary.

Liberal Democrat treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney said: “These monster profits will be another nasty shock to families who couldn’t afford to heat their homes this year.”

Today energy company leaders will meet with Grant Shapps, the Energy Secretary, in Downing Street as part of the Government’s set of energy announcements unveiled this week.

Speaking during a visit to Teeside yesterday he said that companies like BP are being “properly taxed”

“It may not have felt that way, but (bills) would have been £1,500 on average higher if we hadn’t taxed the energy companies,” he said, adding that global energy companies have been “playing their part”.

The meeting in Downing Street is set to cover how energy companies can spend £100 billion by investing in renewable energy, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.

Yesterday ministers revealed that more than £8 million will be invested in hydrogen-powered transport at Teesside International Airport.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the Government funding will be used to develop airport support vehicles, such as aircraft tow trucks and runway sweepers, which run on hydrogen and four new refuelling stations.

It is one of the latest in a series of Government announcements on energy security and green industry which have been revealed this week following the advancement of the UK’s nuclear ambitions.

The Ministry of Defence yesterday announced that a new task force had been launched to make sure the UK has the right skills in the nuclear industry.

It will develop a national skills strategy for jobs across the industry, from technical scientific and engineering roles to logistics, project management, commercial and finance.

Nuclear minister Andrew Bowie hailed a nuclear “revival” with the launch of Great British Nuclear, an arm’s-length body involved in the Government-backed competition to develop smaller-scale nuclear technology projects.

He said: “The UK’s nuclear revival, with the launch of Great British Nuclear, will put us centre stage in the global race to unleash a new generation of nuclear technology.

“The Nuclear Skills Taskforce will support this expansion by securing the skills and workforce we need to deliver this, opening up exciting opportunities and careers to help bolster our energy security.”