We are currently way off track to limit warming to 1.5°C, which is deemed the safest, liveable temperature rise still possible. Burning the fossil fuels in existing projects will push us past this target. Adding new developments like Rosebank will push us closer to parts of our world becoming uninhabitable.
Governments must begin phasing out fossil fuel infrastructure now, including the UK, which is the second biggest oil and gas producer in Europe. We cannot let them approve any more oil and gas projects, including Rosebank.
This government is failing on both counts if it keeps approving new fields like Rosebank. Right now, most of us are locked into using fossil fuels and forced to pay extortionate heating and fuel bills, all the while knowing that the UK has the best renewable resources in Europe that could supply us with affordable, less polluting energy. Meanwhile, companies like Shell and Equinor tell us – and our government – that change isn’t possible (yet), while they continue to rip us off.
We should be winding down production of oil and gas while making sure that workers and impacted communities are not left behind – this is what’s called a ‘just transition’.
Done properly, with the right support and investment, the move away from fossil fuels could see three jobs in clean energy for every oil and gas job at risk. Only those currently raking in oil and gas profits would lose.
Campaigners vow legal action over Rosebank oil field approval
Campaigners have reacted to the government’s decision to approve the Rosebank oil field by vowing to take legal action. The government has today given permission to Equinor, the Norwegian state-backed oil company, to develop Rosebank, which is the UK’s largest undeveloped oil and gas field off the coast of Shetland.