The Bishop of Norwich received the following written answer on 16th December 2025:
The Bishop of Norwich: To ask His Majesty’s Government how the proposed extension of existing gas and oil drilling in the North Sea aligns with calls arising from the Global Stocktake to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, as recommended by the Climate Change Committee.
Continue reading “Bishop of Norwich asks about extension of oil and gas extraction in the North Sea”
The Bishop of Norwich asked a question on altering of language used regarding the transition away from fossil fuels during a discussion on COP 30 on 3rd December 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his comments. I pay tribute to Secretary of State Miliband for his sheer commitment working towards COP 30—building, let us not forget, on the work that the previous Government achieved, led particularly by the noble Lords, Lord Sharma and Lord Goldsmith. Those were Conservative commitments.
However, I note that in the language around coal and fossil fuels at successive COPs, there has been a great weakening, from the “phasing out” of Glasgow through “phasing down” to “transitioning away” and now to a weak plan and pathway. It was St Basil the Great who spoke about us always having two different paths,
“one broad and easy, the other hard and narrow”,
and that within our minds we are always working out which path to take. Basil said:
“The soul is confused and dithers in its calculations. It prefers pleasure when it is looking at the present; it chooses virtue when its eye is on eternity”.
Continue reading “Bishop of Norwich asks about language used in COP environmental pledges”
The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on the impact of new oil projects on net zero targets, and a question on the viability of carbon capture and storage, on 12th February 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: Perhaps I might make it a bit wider, to avoid putting the Minister in a difficult situation. We have heard that there are a number of projects that have previously been approved to a certain stage and—at the risk of a pun—are in the pipeline. Have the Government made any estimate of the impact that schemes in this sort of pipeline will have on the UK being able to meet its net-zero targets?
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester asks about net zero targets and biomass capture”On 19th July 2023, the Bishop of Bristol asked a question on the alignment of company commitments to net-zero targets, and whether the government would factor this in before authorising expansion of North Sea oil and gas exploration:
The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, what assessment is the North Sea Transition Authority making of the alignment of company commitments, especially on net- zero targets covering scopes 1, 2 and 3, over the short, medium and long term as well as company alignment on capital expenditure towards those targets? Can the Minister assure us that, before licensing any expansion in North Sea exploration, the authority will factor this into consideration when judging projects under alignment with the UK’s net-zero legal commitment?
Continue reading “Bishop of Bristol asks about future oil and gas exploration in the North Sea”
The Church of England in Parliament 
You must be logged in to post a comment.