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.
Oil and gas licensing: what’s it all about?
News broke this week that the government has awarded 27 new oil and gas licences - the first tranche of the 100 licences it's been talking about awarding since late last year. Here we explain what this means for UK energy production and climate targets, and why this is politics, rather than policy.
How Norway’s oil company Equinor is fuelling the climate crisis and threatening vulnerable marine habitats
A closer look at Equinor’s global projects exposes how Norway’s state-owned oil company continues to ignore climate science, Norway’s climate and nature commitments, and the Norwegian government's expectations of state-owned companies
Rishi Sunak: Reverse your Rosebank oil field decision
Today, more than 100 organisations including leading UK nature and wildlife charities have written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak demanding the Rosebank oilfield decision is reversed to save Britain’s struggling wildlife and climate. The groups, who together represent millions of members, include Oceana UK, the Wildlife Trusts, Whale and Dolphin Conservation and the RSPB. See the full letter.