The announcement angered environmental groups and comes amid an internal debate within the ruling Conservative party on green policies.
The main opposition Labour party has said it will not issue any new North Sea drilling licences if it regains power in a general election due next year.
"Investment in the North Sea will continue to unlock new projects, protect jobs, reduce emissions and boost UK energy independence," Downing Street said in a statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February last year saw a global surge in energy prices as Western nations imposed sanctions against Moscow, targeting in particular its massive oil and gas exports.
On a visit to Scotland, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the licensing decision was "entirely consistent with transitioning to net zero".
He said that even if Britain achieves net zero by mid-century, around a quarter of its energy needs will still come from oil and gas.
"What is important then is that we get that oil and gas in the best possible way. And that means getting it from here at home better for our energy security, not reliant on foreign dictators, better for jobs... but also better for the climate," Sunak added.
A study released Monday by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) said the carbon footprint from domestic UK gas production was one-fourth the footprint from imported liquified natural gas.
- 'Betrayal of British people' -
But the licensing announcement prompted a backlash from environmental groups with Greenpeace calling it a "deliberate attempt to polarise the climate debate in the UK and score cheap political points".
Hugo Tagholm, director of Oceana UK, an ocean advocacy organisation, said the decision was a "betrayal of the British people" showing "no regard for a future for our children and generations to come".
"July was the hottest month ever because of burning fossil fuels," Just Stop Oil, which wants the UK government to end all new oil and gas exploration, said.
"Sunak is worse than a war criminal. He knows new oil and gas will impose unimaginable suffering and destroy the lives and livelihoods of billions of people," the group added.
Also on Monday, the government confirmed plans to build two more carbon-capture facilities along the North Sea coast, at Acorn in northeast Scotland and Viking near Humber, England, alongside two already under construction.
It said the four clusters could support up to 50,000 jobs by 2030.
Energy giant Shell, which is involved in one of the carbon capture projects, hailed it as a "central part of plans to decarbonise North Sea operations".
The technology, however, has been criticised by some climate experts, who say it risks distracting from efforts to phase out hydrocarbons.
- 'Green gloss' -
Greenpeace said carbon capturing is "often used for greenwashing by oil and gas companies so they can carry on polluting".
"Talking up carbon capture and storage is an obvious attempt to put a green gloss on the prime minister's announcement," Mike Childs, head of policy at Friends of the Earth, said.
Environmental policies have been a hot topic in the UK, especially since Labour's surprise defeat by the ruling Conservative party in a west London by-election.
Their defeat, by less than 500 votes, has been blamed on voter unease at Labour mayor Sadiq Khan expanding a scheme taxing the use of the most polluting vehicles, and appears to have emboldened Tory net zero opponents.
In a Telegraph interview on Sunday, Sunak insisted he was on the side of motorists and said he had ordered a review of so-called low traffic neighbourhoods, contentious local authority-led measures to limit vehicle use in designated areas by blocking roads.
Climate campaigners have accused the British leader of lacking conviction on climate policies and playing politics with the issue, with a general election looming amid a cost-of-living crisis.
Sunak backs plans for new UK oil and gas exploration
London (AFP) July 30, 2023 -
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has backed plans for new fossil fuel drilling off Britain's coast, saying in a Sunday newspaper interview he would be "pragmatic and proportionate" about reaching net zero.
His government is expected to approve the development of Rosebank, near Scotland's Shetland Isles -- believed to be the UK's largest undeveloped oil and gas field -- as well as other sites in the nearby North Sea imminently.
The prospect has infuriated environmental campaigners, who argue that stopping all new fossil fuel exploitation is essential if Britain is to decarbonise by mid-century.
They accuse the British leader of lacking conviction on climate policies and playing politics with the issue, as he eyes a general election due next year amid a cost-of-living crisis.
The main opposition Labour party, well ahead in the polls, said earlier this year it will not issue any new North Sea drilling licences if it regains power after more than a decade in opposition.
"I think it makes absolutely no sense, as the Labour Party is suggesting, to ban North Sea oil and gas," Sunak told the Sunday Telegraph.
"That is just going to weaken our energy security and strengthen the hands of dictators like (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin," he said, arguing it jeopardised 200,000 jobs and threatened 80 billion pounds ($103 billion) worth of tax revenue.
Sunak, who became leader last October, said his approach was "to support the UK's energy industry" and appeared to suggest that not exploiting new UK oil and gas reserves risked "the lights going out" in Britain.
"Everybody sensible recognises that we will need those fossil fuels as part of the transition to net zero," he argued.
- 'Out of touch' -
The comments follow the Conservatives defying dismal national polling to retain former prime minister Boris Johnson's vacated northwest London seat in a July 20 parliamentary by-election.
The narrow victory came amid voter unease at Labour mayor Sadiq Khan expanding a scheme taxing the use of the most polluting vehicles, and appears to have emboldened Tory net zero opponents.
In the Telegraph interview, Sunak insisted he was on the side of motorists and said he had ordered a review of so-called low traffic neighbourhoods, contentious local authority-led tools to limit vehicle use in designated areas by blocking roads.
His government has riled climate campaigners since the surprise by-election win by suggesting some UK environmental targets could be eased, while offering lukewarm support for the country's ambitious net zero agenda.
Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg on Friday called the UK government "out of touch from reality" after energy minister Grant Shapps said it would look to "max out" North Sea reserves.
Meanwhile several mainstream pressure groups claiming to represent tens of millions of Britons wrote to Sunak promising to mobilise if net zero policies are watered down.
Sunak, who has been criticised for his frequent use of helicopters and planes to travel around Britain, insisted he wants to "leave the environment and our climate in a better state".
"But I'm going to do that in a way that is pragmatic and proportionate, and not unnecessarily add costs or hassle to people's lives," he added, noting the current grim economic reality many face.
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