Category Archives: Alok Sharma

Fresh Blow For Rishi Sunak As Alok Sharma Joins Tory Wind Farm Rebellion

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Alok Sharma has become the latest senior Tory MP to join a growing rebellion against the government’s position on onshore windfarms.

The Cop 26 president has signed an amendment to the regeneration and levelling up bill calling for the current ban on the developments to be lifted.

He joins former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss in backing the amendment, which has been tabled by former levelling up secretary Simon Clarke.

Announcing his decision on Twitter, Sharma said: “Onshore wind is one of the cheapest forms of renewable power and will help to bolster the UK’s energy security.

“I said in Parliament in July, that where communities are positively welcoming of onshore in return for reduced bills, onshore should be kept on the table So I will support Simon Clarke’s Levelling Up Bill amendment to lift the ban on onshore & let local communities decide.”

The move is a further blow for Rishi Sunak, who has already been forced to back down over a separate amendment to the levelling up and regeneration bill following another Tory rebellion.

More than 50 Conservative MPs have put their names to an amendment which would mean councils would no longer have to follow Whitehall housebuilding targets.

A vote on the amendment was due to take place on Monday, but it was pulled by the government to avoid an embarrassing rebellion.

Labour accused Sunak of “running scared of your own backbenchers”.

Welcoming Sharma’s support, Simon Clarke said: “As a former secretary of state for business and Cop president, Alok Sharma has huge authority on why we should end the ban on onshore wind.

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COP26: Alok Sharma Dodges Questions On Cambo Oil Field Saying ‘I Have No Power’

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WPA Pool via Getty Images

The UK has come under intense scrutiny over its position towards the Cambo oil field, which is situated to the west of the Shetland Islands and is thought to hold 800million barrels of oil.

Cop26 president Alok Sharma has sought to distance himself from the government’s support of the new Cambo oil field, saying he has “no power” to halt the development.

Sharma ducked a number of questions over whether the UK could claim moral authority over the summit in Glasgow given the UK’s support for the Cambo oil field, which lies west of the Shetland Islands.

A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) recently stated that no new oil or gas establishments could be set up after this year if the UK was to achieve its net zero target.

But Sharma pushed back against the report’s findings and said the UK had decarbonised faster than any other G20 nation.

Asked by Andrew Marr whether giving the oil field the green light sent the right message to the rest of the world during the climate gathering in Glasgow, Sharma said: “You know, we as a country have decarbonised our economy faster than any other G20 nation over the past years.

“And in terms of oil and gas, we’ve been very clear: we’ve said that in terms of granting any future licences, there will be a climate compatibility checkpoint, and any licences that are granted will have to be compatible with our legal requirement to be net zero by 2050.”

Asked about the IEA’s recommendation to stop any future oil and gas fields, and whether he could stop it, Sharma responded: “Well, it is not as you say in my power, my role here is to bring together consensus amongst almost 200 countries.

“The IEA report also makes clear that, even in a net zero scenario, there is some element of oil and gas in that.”

But Marr pushed further: “I ask again — does allowing the Cambo oil and gas field off Shetland to go ahead now set a good example around the world?

Sharma replied: “That is something that is being considered. There was a consultation inquiry around all of that.

“I’m not going to go into that particular issue. When there is an announcement, an agreement, of course I’d be very happy to come and talk to you.”

The UK has come under intense scrutiny over its position towards the Cambo oil field, which is thought to hold 800million barrels of oil.

The government has sought to defend its interest in the site on the grounds that even as the world moves away from fossil fuels, there will still be an ongoing demand for oil and gas in the coming years.

But climate activists and critics have said the government’s stance towards the oil field sends the wrong message to the rest of the world and to developing nations who will find it costly to decarbonise.

And on Saturday, Sharma was heckled as a “hypocrite” by youth activists while giving a speech at the COY26 youth conference.

Marr went on to say: “The chair of the climate change committee, Lord Deben, says of the oil field one you do that, once you allow that to go ahead, ‘you set an example that will be quoted throughout the world as showing such a development is acceptable’.

“And yet you’re not prepared to stop it.”

Mr Sharma replied: “That’s not my decision, that’s not my role.”

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