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Liberals are furious because British Prime Minister Liz Truss is increasing oil and gas production while Europe battles soaring energy prices.
Truss said, “We will get Britain moving by cementing our status as the best place in the world to do business.”
“We are putting our money where our mouth is in encouraging businesses to invest, create jobs and grow,” she added.
Truss is pushing for higher fossil fuel production with the goal of becoming a net exporter of energy by 2040.
She also canceled a rise in the corporate tax rate and decreased the basic income tax rate to 19%.
This is expected to significantly increase economic growth, but liberals are more concerned about the alleged impact on global warming.
More on this story via Daily Wire:
Green activists, however, began raising concerns about the new economic agenda, which entails removing some environmental standards in the investment zones. Joan Edwards, who leads marine conservation efforts for The Wildlife Trusts, claimed in a blog post that “cutting red tape” is no more than an excuse for “polluters” to poison “our rivers and countryside” and argued for strengthening wildlife protections in the investment zones.
“As our landscape is increasingly damaged by climate change — as seen by the wildfires, drought and flooding of this summer — we cannot afford not to protect our wild spaces to our best ability,” she contended. “For the good of future generations, we must reject deregulation and enhance nature protection instead.”
Meanwhile, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds argued on social media that the British government “launched an attack on nature.”
“We are angry and we are mobilising against these proposed plans,” the group said. “Our most vulnerable waterways, wildlife and green spaces across England are facing one of the greatest threats in decades.”
Truss has also announced a new round of oil and gas leases for the North Sea and lifted her nation’s moratorium on shale gas production — including the practice of fracking, by which pressurized liquid is injected into underground rocks to extract fuels. The ban was initially established in 2019 amid concerns over earthquakes.
