Norwegian government attacked over decision to reopen North Sea gasfields
The Norwegian government has been heavily criticised for approving plans to reopen three North Sea gasfields nearly three decades after they were closed to help fill the gap in energy supplies created by the Middle East war.Amid sharp price rises in oil and gas since the US and Israel’s attack on Iran in February, Oslo has also given its approval for oil and gas companies to explore in 70 new locations in the North Sea, Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea.The decision by the Labour-run government goes against the advice of the country’s environment agency and has infuriated left-leaning parties.“We live in troubled times,” the prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, said as he announced the decision, which would “create great value for the community, lay the foundation for good jobs throughout the country, ensure our common welfare and contribute to Europe’s energy security and safety”.The Albuskjell, Vest Ekofisk and Tommeliten Gamma gasfields in the North Sea were closed in 1998.
The government plans to spend 19bn kroner (£1.5bn) on restarting them by the end of 2028 with production to continue until 2048.The gas will be sent by pipeline to Germany with light oil sent to the UK.Norway set out the plan to expand its North Sea oil and gas production amid a row in the UK over the future of hydrocarbons in UK waters.The Labour government has banned new exploration licences, but the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, is under pressure to decide on whether to allow two projects which were granted licences under the previous Conservative government to go ahead.
Norway’s state oil company, Equinor, hopes to develop the Rosebank oilfield, while Shell is waiting for a government decision on its Jackdaw gas project.Climate campaigners have said the projects would undermine the UK’s climate agenda, while some industry experts have argued that domestic fossil fuels would lead to lower emissions than US imports and would bring greater economic benefits.The 70 new areas of Norway’s seabed to be opened up for exploration include some closer to the coast than ever before.Companies have until 1 September to apply, and licences will be granted early next year.The deputy leader and environment spokesperson for the Socialist Left party, Lars Haltbrekken, said the decision was madness and accused the government of greenwashing.
“It shows that the government is once again blatantly ignoring environmental advice from its own experts,” he said,“All the talk about responsible oil extraction is nothing but nonsense,It’s greenwashing through and through, with vulnerable and important natural areas being put at risk with full awareness,”Expanding the area for exploration licences would not solve today’s oil crisis and could have “potentially catastrophic consequences for fish and bird populations”, he said,“We are now risking oil drilling right up to the shoreline.
If an accident happens, we have no chance of preventing an environmental catastrophe,”Equinor has pumped record amounts of oil and gas since the US-Israeli war with Iran and the closure of the strait of Hormuz strangled the flow of oil and gas from the Gulf to the global markets,It pumped 2,31m barrels of oil equivalent a day in the first quarter, according to its latest financial results, almost 9% more than in the same months last year and almost double the increase financial analysts predicted,The company’s record fossil fuel production combined with surging market prices helped it to its highest quarterly profits since 2023, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a gas supply shock across Europe.
Equinor expects the current disruption to last well beyond any end to hostilities.Norway’s energy minister, Terje Aasland, said: “Norwegian production of oil and gas is an important contribution to energy security in Europe.Development of new gasfields helps Norway maintain high deliveries in the long term.“This has become more important after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.”The Norwegian prime minister’s office declined to comment.
‘Climate solutions will bring down bills and restore nature’: green issues and May elections
The defining issue of Thursday’s local elections, feedback from doorsteps suggests, will be the UK’s soaring cost of living. But voters should be told about the links between inflation and the effects of fossil fuels and the climate crisis – or the remedies they choose – may make the situation worse, green campaigners have warned.Ami McCarthy, the head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said: “With people’s bills and prices soaring from yet another fossil fuel crisis, these local elections have a global context – driven by the Iran war.“Getting the UK out of the fossil fuel doom loop and on to renewables would secure a stable and affordable supply of energy. Voters face a choice between parties that want to keep us hooked on expensive, imported oil and gas, and those that offer a way out of this cycle of insecurity
Burnham sparks Labour anger with plan to appear at event alongside Greens
Andy Burnham’s decision to appear at a progressive rally alongside prominent Green and Liberal Democrat figures has sparked anger among some Labour MPs, who have accused him of undermining their local election message.The Greater Manchester mayor, who is seen as one of the most likely challengers to Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership, will be speaking at the Change:Now event this month organised by the leftwing group Compass.Compass’s founder, Neal Lawson, has long campaigned for a cross-party progressive alliance but is also a prominent supporter of Burnham.Two other Labour MPs, Clive Lewis, who has offered to give up his seat for Burnham, and Miatta Fahnbulleh, the communities minister, are also due to speak at the event. Other speakers include Caroline Lucas, the former Green party leader; James Meadway, the head of the Green-aligned thinktank Verdant; Vince Cable, the former Liberal Democrat cabinet minister; and the Lib Dem MP Roz Savage
Scottish mum stuck abroad after baby falls foul of UK dual nationality rules
A British woman from Aberdeen has been stranded abroad after her 11-month-old baby was prevented from boarding a flight because of new rules regarding dual nationals.Sarah Schloegl was unable to board a Ryanair flight from Alicante last week after she went to Spain for a short break with her Austrian husband, Philipp, their three-year-old daughter and 11-month-old baby.Since February, British dual nationals have had to show a British passport or a certificate of entitlement of abode, costing £589, when they board flights, trains or ferries to the UK.Schloegl said she followed the news but was unaware of this change and argued it should have been displayed on posters in airports and on airline websites months before it happened so that passengers did not fall foul of the rule on return journeys.The first she knew of the rule change was when she got to the departure gate in Alicante
How to ensure donors can’t buy political influence | Letters
George Monbiot is surely right that large private donations poison democratic trust, whether or not corruption can ever be shown (Political donations are poison to our democracy – but there’s an easy antidote to that, 30 April). The damage lies not only in any favour bought but in the suspicion created. When one billionaire can appear to sustain a political party, politics begins to look less like representation and more like private ownership.Monbiot’s membership-based model has moral weight. It would force parties to organise among citizens rather than flatter wealth and it would make politicians seek members, not patrons
Lib Dems accuse Badenoch of being willing to ‘put Farage in No 10’ after she hints she would approve council pacts – as it happened
Kemi Badenoch has suggested she would be happy for Conservatives councillors to govern in cooperation with Reform UK councillors.In an interview with Sky News, asked about the possibility of Tory/Reform pacts at local level, she at first said that in the councils where Reform won last year, there were no coalitions with the Conservatives.But she went on:double quotation markWe are willing to work with people who will help deliver Conservative policies.Commenting on this answer, Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader, said:double quotation markLifelong Conservative voters across the country will be appalled that Kemi Badenoch is opening the door to coalitions with Reform.This is a dress rehearsal for the next general election when the Conservatives are preparing to put Nigel Farage into Number 10
One of the last true believers, Pat McFadden is sent out to defend kryptonite Keir | John Crace
‘Twas the night before the elections, when all through No 10, not a creature was stirring, not even a hen. Mainly because Downing Street had come to the conclusion that letting Keir Starmer loose on the campaign trail was a surefire way to lose votes.Canvassers from all over the country had confirmed what the polls were saying. That the prime minister was kryptonite to Labour’s chances. Mention his name to voters and people would turn their heads away
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