Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the compatibility between the Oil and Gas Authority's remit of maximising revenues from oil and gas recovery and (a) the Government's decarbonisation commitments under the Paris Agreement and (b) the recommendations of the IPCC on the speed of decarbonisation required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

Oil and gas will continue to play an important role as part of the energy mix for decades to come. We are committed to reducing carbon emissions form 1990 levels by 80% by 2050 and any emission from use of oil or gas will be included in our binding carbon budgets

As we continue to move to a low carbon economy we need to ensure we have a balanced energy mix, so that we have a reliable, clean and affordable energy system. This means that in the medium term there will be a role for oil and gas; over 85% of the population currently use gas for heating and around 65% for cooking, with UK Continental Shelf oil and gas production still equivalent to around half of demand.

We are leading the world in our response to the special report on global warming of 1.5°C – commissioning the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) for their advice on the implications of the Paris Agreement for the UK’s long-term emissions reduction targets, just one week after its publication.

As part of this, we have requested that they provide evidence on how reductions in line with the CCC’s recommendations might be delivered in key sectors of the economy and we will consider their advice carefully when it is received.