ADDING FOOL TO THE FIRE

Fury as Sunak backs hundreds of new oil & gas projects making á móckéry of climaté change émergency

- PAUL HUTCHEON

RISHI Sunak was yesterday accused of being a climate denier after backing hundreds of new oil and gas projects in the North Sea. 

The Tory Prime Minister was also slammed after claiming fossil fuel drilling should be “maxed out” as it is “good” for the environment.

During a trip to Scotland, Sunak announced his government’s support for new drilling licenses – despite fears over climate change.

Mary Church, of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “Burning oil and gas is driving extreme weather and killing people on every continent yet Rishi Sunak is gleefully encouraging the arsonists to put more fuel on the fire.

“By ignoring the huge harm caused by fossil fuel companies’ greed and doing bidding of the industry, the UK Government is blatantly in denial about climate breakdown.”

Sunak visited a Shell plant near Peterhead to announce funding for the Acorn carbon capture facility which he claims will create jobs.

After flying in to Scotland to make the so-called “green announcement”, his government was criticised for backing new drilling in the North Sea.

Fossil fuels are causing massive damage to an over-heating planet but defiant Sunak said: “My view is we should max out the opportunities we have in the North Sea because that’s good for our energy security.

“It’s good for jobs, particularly in Scotland, but it’s also good for the climate because the alternative is shipping energy here from halfway around the world with three or four times the carbon emissions. So, investing and backing our North Sea is the right thing to do is to.”