According to Bloomberg, the United Kingdom, the host of the ongoing COP26 climate summit, will not join the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance (BOGA), which wants governments to commit to a specific date for phasing out oil and gas production.

Costa Rica and Denmark are spearheading efforts to form the alliance, which intends to bring together “a group of ambitious governments that are committed to delivering a managed and just transition away from oil and gas production.”

The alliance is to announce new members on Wednesday, but the host of the talks in Glasgow, the United Kingdom, will not be one of them, arguing that ending domestic oil and gas production will leave a gap in the country’s energy supply until it can build out enough renewable energy capacity.

The United Kingdom was the first industrialised nation to enshrine the net-zero emissions by 2050 pledge into law. It unveiled the North Sea Transition Deal earlier this year, outlining how the UK’s offshore oil and gas sector and the government will collaborate to deliver the skills, innovation, and new infrastructure needed to meet the country’s ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets.

However, the recent natural gas crisis has demonstrated that the UK’s gas production is critical to satisfying the country’s energy needs, according to offshore industry organisation OGUK. According to OGUK, domestic production accounts for 47% of the UK’s gas consumption.

OGUK’s Chief Executive Deirdre Michie, said: “Our industry is committed to cutting the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions and helping the government achieve net zero by 2050. However more than 40% of our electricity is generated by gas and some 23m homes are heated by it so although gas use will decline it will be important for some years yet.”