Author of ‘Ethical Oil’ Ezra Levant makes the case for drilling in the North SeaA best-selling climate author has told GB News that opening new oil and gas fields in the North Sea is “ethical” and urged Labour to scrap Net Zero.Ezra Levant, author of Ethical Oil, argues that oil and gas production in Western democracies, such as the UK and Norway, is far more ethical than importing energy from regimes with poor human rights records. Speaking to GB News, Levant made the case for expanding fossil fuel production in Britain rather than relying on foreign imports.Levant explained, “The UK brings in its gas from Qatar. That’s an OPEC theocratic dictatorship.”“In my book Ethical Oil, I took a liberal look at oil sands oil or other sources of ethical oil like the North Sea or fracking. And I said, what do liberals claim to care about when it comes to energy?”Ezra Levant, author of ‘Ethical Oil’ He continued: “I think four things. They want it to be environmentally responsible. They want it to be peaceful, not just the production of it, but the use of the proceeds. They want workers to be well compensated and they want civil rights. Environmental responsibility, peace, the treatment of workers, civil rights—that makes ethical oil.”Levant argued that many countries producing oil and gas are riddled with corruption, human rights abuses, and environmental destruction.He points out that the UK, the US, Canada, and Norway all have stringent regulations that ensure workers’ rights, environmental protections, and fair wages.“I put it to you that oil and gas produced in Canada, the United States, Norway, and the UK, and that’s just about it, are the fair-trade coffee of the world’s oil and gas industry. The only question is, is it ethical oil made in the West under our Western liberal standards? Or are you bringing it in from Qatar and averting your eyes?”The author contrasted the four Western-oil producing countries with other nations with significant fossil fuel reserves, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar. “Why do all the worst places in the world have oil? Well, it’s not quite true because the UK has oil and gas itself. It just won’t produce it. America under Trump was producing a lot of it.”Levant is also an outspoken critic of Net Zero, arguing that the policy is economically damaging and ineffective in reducing global emissions.He claimed that even if the UK were to eliminate all carbon emissions, it would have no impact on climate change due to emissions from countries like China and India.Ed Miliband is making drastic changes to UK energy policy Getty Images“Net Zero doesn’t make any sense, even on its own terms. Even if the UK were to remove every car from the road, remove all carbon-based fuels from its energy source, stop farming, and ban farting cows, the resulting zero emissions would not change the weather one jot.”However, proponents of green energy argue that the transition to renewable energy is not just about cutting emissions but also about securing long-term energy independence.Green campaigners insist that wind, solar, and nuclear energy provide a stable, domestically produced alternative to imported fossil fuels.The Labour Party has committed to achieving Net Zero by 2050, with plans to ramp up investment in offshore wind and nuclear power. Keir Starmer has described Net Zero as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to create green jobs and establish the UK as a global leader in renewable energy technology.Last month Ed Miliband criticised conservative critics who support scrapping Net Zero, telling The Guardian: “It’s a sign of a Tory party that is frankly out of ideas and desperate, and what they’re really offering is an anti-jobs, anti-energy security, anti-future generations policy. “It’s an energy surrender policy because it would leave us dependent on fossil fuels, it’s an anti-jobs policy because the net zero economy grew three times faster than the economy as a whole last year and it’s a total desertion and betrayal of future generations.”Levant also raised concerns about the economic impact of Net Zero policies on British industry, particularly in steel production and manufacturing. He warned that the UK is undermining its own economic strength by shutting down key industries in pursuit of Net Zero goals.“I see the news that the last virgin steel blast furnaces in the UK are in jeopardy, being shut down because some politicians think you can make steel without using coal. You can’t, you can’t,” the author said. “And imagine the United Kingdom, which created the Industrial Revolution, in part because it’s built on an island of coal, imagine that same United Kingdom banishing industry for some cultish thing.”Levant added: “And I don’t put this all on Labour. Boris Johnson was some insane cult member of Net Zero himself, so the Tories are just as bad.”His comments come as British Steel prepares to shut down its blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, threatening thousands of jobs in a bid to transition to lower-emission steel production.