Denmark ends North Sea oil exploration and bans all extraction by 2050

In response to the announcement by the Danish Government on the cancellation of their 8th North Sea licensing round, ban on future offshore licencing (following an onshore ban in 2018), and a ban on all offshore production by 2050, Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Just Transition Campaigner, Ryan Morrison said

“This is a landmark announcement from our North Sea neighbours. We have seen other countries such as Costa Rica, Ireland and New Zealand ban new exploration but this makes Denmark the first significant fossil fuel producer to announce an end date for all extraction.

“We know that fossil fuels are driving the climate crisis and this is a major milestone in the critical decade for action in trying to reconcile our energy systems with climate limits.

“A UN report earlier this week revealed that countries’ plans for fossil fuel production to 2030 will mean more than double the amount we can afford to limit warming to 1.5ºC. Despite this, the UK policy is to extract every possible drop of oil available in the North Sea.

“With the UN climate talks coming to Glasgow in 2021, and given our historic responsibility for emissions, the UK should join this growing number of countries by committing to phase out production and investing in a just transition away from fossil fuels to build a 100% renewable energy system that creates thousands of secure and sustainable jobs.”