Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has urged incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham to guarantee an international court ruling on climate change will not weaken support for North Sea oil and gas, after a new report warned it could leave the UK facing climate damages claims worth up to £4trillion and jeopardise future offshore developments.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Badenoch called on Burnham to "reassure the nation that no 'advisory opinion' will weaken our commitment to drilling in the North Sea" and revealed she has asked her Shadow Attorney General to examine whether the UK should continue accepting the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The intervention follows a report by Policy Exchange, which warned that an advisory opinion issued by the ICJ last year could open the door to legal claims against countries over historic greenhouse gas emissions.
The report argued the UK could become a particular target because of its role in the Industrial Revolution, while also raising concerns the opinion could be used to challenge future North Sea oil and gas developments.
It comes at a pivotal moment for the UK energy sector, with ministers expected to decide in the coming weeks whether to grant final consent for the Jackdaw and Rosebank North Sea developments.
Badenoch said: "One of those international bodies determined to bankrupt and ruin our country has struck again."
She added: "Energy security is economic security, it is national security. The wars in Ukraine and the Gulf have shown us how important it is to have our own energy supply, which is why I have been unequivocal in my conviction that Britain must make drilling for oil and gas a priority."
Referring to the Policy Exchange report, she said it warned the ICJ opinion could "open the floodgates to legal claims against Britain, and fundamentally reshape our domestic energy policy without a single vote being cast."
The Conservative leader also said: "I do not believe that we should remain within the compulsory jurisdiction of this court if it is not in our national interest to be there."
She also renewed her criticism of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, saying his "net zero zealotry is making energy bills more expensive and deindustrialising the country."
A Foreign Office spokesman said the advisory was not legally binding, but said the UK Government "welcome their contribution to international discussion on climate action".