Conservative leader vows to remove net zero rules for North Sea drilling

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to remove all net zero requirements on oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea and to prioritise "maximising extraction" of UK hydrocarbons if her party wins the next general election.

Badenoch was due to formally set out the policy in a speech in Aberdeen, saying the Conservatives would focus solely on getting "all our oil and gas out of the North Sea." She argued that net zero measures have increased costs for households, saying they end up "paying the price through higher energy bills."

The Labour government rejected the proposal and accused the Conservatives of failing to secure the country's energy supply in the past. A government spokesperson said: "We'll take no lectures from Kemi Badenoch. Every family and business paid the price of the Conservatives' failure to secure the UK's energy." The spokesperson added that exploring new fields would "not take a penny off bills" or improve energy security and would "only accelerate the worsening climate crisis."

The pledge marks a significant shift in Conservative climate policy. Earlier this year Badenoch told the party conference that reaching net zero emissions by 2050 would be "impossible," departing from the positions of successive UK governments that enshrined the 2050 target in law under former Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019.

The Labour government has committed to banning new North Sea exploration licences, a measure intended to limit future fossil fuel development as the UK transitions to lower-carbon energy sources. Proponents of maintaining strict emissions requirements for drilling contend that increasing extraction would lock in additional greenhouse gas emissions and undermine efforts to meet legally binding climate targets.

Badenoch and other Conservatives argue that increased domestic production could bolster energy security and ease price pressures, though the government spokesman and many climate advocates say the effect on household bills would be negligible and that other measures are needed to deliver reliable, affordable supplies while cutting emissions.

The debate over North Sea policy comes amid wider arguments about the pace and feasibility of the UK’s net zero transition, energy affordability and the role of domestic fossil fuel production in meeting short-term supply needs. Both parties frame their positions around energy security and costs to consumers, but they diverge sharply on how to balance those goals with the nation's legally established climate commitments.

The Conservative announcement is likely to sharpen scrutiny of party manifestos on energy and climate ahead of the election, and to prompt further exchanges between ministers and opposition figures over the implications for emissions, energy costs and the UK's climate obligations.