Despite the recent government approval of a new deep coal mine and plans for additional licenses for North Sea oil and gas extraction, Sunak argues that the UK's decarbonisation progress is still the fastest among G7 nations. He cited inventory data submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in defence of his claim.

Sunak's defence comes in light of a recent YouGov poll, showing 67% of voters believe the government is handling environmental issues poorly, the worst rating since mid-2019. Despite this, Sunak maintains his commitment to reaching the target of net zero emissions by 2050, and emphasises that the need for fossil fuels will continue even as the country works towards this goal.

He argues that sourcing these fuels domestically is the right course of action to mitigate carbon emissions associated with international shipping."