UK offers new North Sea oil, gas licenses despite opposition

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The British government has opened a new licensing round for North Sea oil and gas exploration, despite criticism from environmentalists and scientists who say the move undermines the fight against climate change. The North Sea Transition Authority said Friday that almost 900 areas of the North Sea are available, with up to 100 licenses likely to be issued. The Conservative government argues that extracting more fossil fuels from the North Sea will create jobs is less environmentally harmful than importing gas and oil from abroad. Environmentalists say the only way to limit global warming to the internationally approved target of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) is to stop extracting fossil fuels.