Blair's fossil fuel ideas bizarre' in face of energy and climate crises, experts say

Abandoning net zero and drilling more oil and gas in the North Sea would be a major setback for the UK and would not improve economic outcomes. Clean energy is described as cheaper, with very low running costs and no climate change impacts that could threaten economic stability. Claims to exploit remaining oil and gas reserves and drop the 2050 net zero target are criticized as ideological. The intervention is framed as especially inappropriate during a record May heatwave and amid the Iran crisis, both presented as evidence of oil and gas costs. The heatwave is linked to risks for older people and young children, stress on livestock and crops, and economic losses estimated above £200 million.

"Abandoning net zero and drilling for more oil and gas in the North Sea would be a massive setback for the UK and would not help the economy, leading experts have said in response to claims by the former prime minister Tony Blair. This is a bizarre intervention to make during the worst May heatwave on record and when the Iran crisis is providing yet more evidence of the enormous costs of oil and gas, said Ed Matthew, the UK programme director at the E3G thinktank."

"Clean energy is cheaper energy - it protects our bills from prices skyrocketing, its running costs are virtually zero, and it doesn't cause climate change which threatens economic collapse ... The government should ignore Blair's ideological nonsense and focus on what works. In an essay published on Wednesday, Blair argued that the UK should exploit its remaining oil and gas reserves and abandon its long-set target of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050."

"Blair, who has links to petrostates and whose institute takes money from technology companies that want a large build-out of AI data centres, has made these arguments for fossil fuels and against net zero many times in the past two years. His intervention came as the UK broke records for solar energy generation as well as for temperatures, which scientists said were the result of the climate crisis and reliance on fossil fuels."

"Doctors said older people and the very young could be at risk from the heatwave, and farmers struggled with heat stresses on livestock and crops that are likely to cost the economy well over 200m this year. A sheep and lamb resting in the heat on the North Yorkshire Moors this week. Heat stresses on livestock and crops could cost the economy more than 200m this year."

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