Not Even in Our Own Backyard?

British Petroleum (BP) and Shell are retreating from oil and gas exploration in the North Sea. This is presumably because they have now come under public scrutiny by shareholders. The petroleum giants have also been threatened with law cases by environmentalists. The Common Wealth thinktank and research by the climate journal Desmog have revealed that more than a third of North Sea licence blocks have now been acquired by private or state-backed controlling interests (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/29/foreign-control-of-north-sea-oil-licences-threatens-uks-net-zero-goal). Firms from China, Russia and the Middle East are now playing dominant roles in North Sea oil and gas exploration. This will make it very difficult for the Oil and Gas Authority to achieve a rapid and fair transition to a low carbon economy on behalf of the UK. Predictably, BP and Shell sold their licence blocks, whilst they could still make money. The UK will now find it very difficult to control 'greenhouse gas' emissions in its own backyard.