George Osborne accused of making climate change worse with tax breaks

clock

Friends of the Earth claims chancellor handed out £2.7bn of incentives to North Sea oil and gas firms

Friends of the Earth has accused the chancellor George Osborne of exacerbating climate change by handing out £2.7bn of incentives to energy companies to fuel North Sea oil and gas production. FoE said...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Taxation

Analysts warn energy bills still set to rise, despite VAT cut

Analysts warn energy bills still set to rise, despite VAT cut

Cornwall Insight calculates decision to remove VAT from electricity will save average household £44, but bills are still set to climb two per cent due to rising gas prices

James Murray
clock 21 July 2026 • 4 min read
Burnham announces 'immediate action' to remove VAT from domestic electricity bills

Burnham announces 'immediate action' to remove VAT from domestic electricity bills

Decision will cut energy bills for average household by £45 a year and reduce running costs for heat pumps and electric vehicles

James Murray
clock 21 July 2026 • 5 min read
Study: Food labelling and carbon pricing could cut UK emissions by five per cent

Study: Food labelling and carbon pricing could cut UK emissions by five per cent

New analysis calculates that a tax on the most emissions-intensive foods could slash climate impacts and deliver wider social benefits

James Murray
clock 20 July 2026 • 3 min read