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UK tax breaks for oil and gas under scrutiny from climate activists
(The Guardian, 8 Dec 2021) UK tax breaks for oil and gas under scrutiny from climate activists High court hearing puts UK financial support for the fossil fuel industry in the spotlight
The UK government failed to account for the billions of pounds in financial support it provides to the fossil fuel industry when deciding how much oil and gas to extract from the North Sea, climate campaigners have argued.
A high court hearing that began on Wednesday has put the economics of the fossil fuel industry under the spotlight and raised questions about the compatibility of oil and gas production with a net zero goal.
The UK’s Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has a legal duty to “maximise economic recovery” from domestic oil and gas resources and adopted a new corporate strategy to achieve this in February. But campaigners say this does not benefit the UK as a whole.
The three plaintiffs in the case – climate activist Mikaela Loach, thinktank director Kairin van Sweeden, and a former oil refinery worker, Jeremy Cox – say tax relief for new oil and gas exploration, as well as financial support provided for decommissioning costs, effectively amounts to a subsidy – a description the government denies.
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The Guardian, 8 Dec 2021: UK tax breaks for oil and gas under scrutiny from climate activists
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