It could pay for EV infrastructure.

Yeah.

I mean, the first thing that I would say, and you know, why I would contest the idea that Norway is, like, this great global eco citizen that's doing the right thing for the climate, is that the science is crystal clear that if we were to burn the reserves in existing oil and gas fields and those that are planned, we would shoot straight past what scientists and governments have accepted is a threshold for a safe climate.

And even that is arguably, given what we've already seen in just the last couple of months, um, an underestimate really of where we should be aiming for in terms of global average temperature rise.

So there isn't room for us to add new oil and gas supplies or coal supplies, for that matter, to existing fossil fuel reserves globally that we can burn if we're gonna stay within 1.5 degrees of temperature increase compared to pre-industrial levels.

So that is a fact, and there is no way that you can reconcile, as I said, opening up a major new oil field like the Rosebank oil field, which is currently on the government's desk, um, to approve or reject.

And the Norwegian government is ignoring the science and making decisions that are at odds with the safety for the vast majority of the planet, even if it is enriching Norwegian pensioners, which it absolutely is in, in terms of contributing to their sovereign wealth fund.

What are Rosebank and Jackdaw, and why do they matter?

Yeah, but we quite like the economic growth.

Well, i- in terms of oil and gas, though, I mean, one of the things that President Trump's grappling with at the moment is that Americans aren't paying for cheap petrol.

You know, despite his attempts to max out oil and gas production, aside from the fact that the oil and gas industry has its own reservations about the approach that he's taking, it's not making a difference to the cost of living for most Americans.

So that's gonna come back, um, to, I think, haunt the president at the midterm elections.

But I, you know, I do think it's important to remember that as r- you know, Becky's been saying, um, the mo- where most of the public is, is supportive of climate action.

And there is a contrived, concerted campaign to create division where none currently exists by using terms like net stupid zero, and trying to import tactics from the US and elsewhere to really toxify a debate that, you know, is totally oblivious to the fact that the net zero agenda f- in, in constituencies that have reform mayors, for example, is creating tens of thousands of jobs.

You know, and that's why they're finding that when they actually govern, it's a huge challenge to back that rhetoric with actual policy.

I mean, because unlike when George Osborne made that statement, the economic argument is on our side, is on the side of those who are advocating for more climate action, and that's because it's fossil fuels that are

Tessa Khan is from the campaign group Uplift.

I think it would be a huge betrayal of the British public for the UK government to approve new oil and gas fields at a time when ordinary people are suffering so much as a result of these record-breaking heatwaves, and that it's very clear from the science that there is no room for new fossil fuel developments.

Isn't it worse for the climate to import gas to the UK?

Well, the reality is that we actually export a chunk of the gas that we produce here as it is, and that's because we don't own the gas that's produced in the North Sea as the UK public.

It's owned by private companies who will sell that gas to whoever will pay the best price for it on international market.

[pool balls clacking]

Are there some which are more credible than others? Uh, are, is it, does it just depend on what assumptions you make?

Yeah.

Yeah, that's also a great question.

I mean, I think there is some basic confusion around the sort of taxonomy of assets, if you like [laughs], within the North Sea.

Um, you know, there's a difference between what's yet to be explored and, and licensed versus what's already been licensed and is waiting for a final development consent to actually move into a production phase.

Um, and then there's, you know, the kind of unknown, unexplored acreage, basically, um, which at this point in the basin's lifetime is considered to be pretty marginal.

But you know, what I'd say is that the in- the oil and gas industry in particular in the last, um, in the last couple of years really since the government introduced the energy profits levy, which is, you know, colloquially known as the windfall tax, um, which the oil and gas industry hasn't been very happy about.

And I guess for our final question to close on, lo- looking ahead, what would a successful future for the North Sea look like for you?