The UK government will soon face a critical decision over the Rosebank oil field. It will be the government’s defining test of its commitment to tackling climate change and protecting future generations from ever-worsening climate impacts. Rosebank would not only drive up emissions, it would do nothing to lower energy bills for UK families or improve energy security. While the UK public would foot most of the bill for developing Rosebank through billions in tax breaks, the field's owners, Equinor and Ithaca Energy, will reap all the profit. Overall, Rosebank is a bad deal for the UK public, future generations and the planet. The UK government must do the right thing and Stop Rosebank.
Rosebank’s oil is overwhelmingly for export and will do nothing to strengthen the UK’s energy security, something the UK government admitted in 2024. Rosebank’s reserves are 90% oil, and the UK exports around 80% of the oil it produces. Its minimal gas reserves have the potential to reduce UK annual gas import dependency by just 1% on average. Rosebank won’t cut bills one bit. Equinor has said that Rosebank’s oil would be sold on the open market, most likely in Europe. New UK oil and gas production does not affect the market price and won’t bring down UK energy bills, something publicly admitted by former Conservative government ministers.
The science is clear: to stay within safe climate limits, there is no room for new oil and gas projects in the North Sea or anywhere else. Burning Rosebank’s oil and gas would release more CO₂ than 700 million people in the world’s poorest countries emit in a year. It could also release more CO₂ than 56 coal-fired power stations produce in a year. The Rosebank decision will be the central test of this government's commitment to tackling the climate crisis. Rosebank is not consistent with the UK’s climate commitments of limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C. Approving the field would seriously undermine the UK’s credibility ahead of COP30 in Brazil, while also damaging protected marine habitats in the North Sea. The UK cannot claim climate leadership while opening the largest undeveloped oil field in its territory.
Rosebank is a terrible deal for the UK public, but will make Norway, one of the richest countries in the world, even richer. Thanks to billions in generous tax breaks, UK taxpayers will shoulder more than 80% of the project’s costs. In a base-case scenario, taking the long-term average oil price of $70 a barrel, Rosebank could result in a net loss of over £250 million to the UK Treasury, while the field’s owners Equinor and Ithaca would earn £1.5 billion in profit. Since Equinor is majority owned by the Norwegian state, Norwegian citizens stand to gain far more from a Rosebank approval than the UK does. Norway already has a national wealth fund worth $1.8 trillion built from its oil and gas assets. Rosebank is, in effect, a redistribution of wealth away from the UK public to one of the richest countries in the world.
Opposition to the field continues to grow and now includes major British musicians, 700 scientists and experts, over 225 organisations, trade union leaders, 400 UK faith leaders, doctors, farmers, 40 MEPs, MPs and Peers from every major political party in the UK, globally recognised organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund, Oxfam Great Britain, Save The Children, and notable individuals including Aurora, Greta Thunberg, Vanessa Nakate, Christiana Figueres, and Naomi Klein. Even the UK’s Science Museum in London has cut ties with Equinor, Rosebank's owner, over its climate record. Not to mention that over 1,000,000 people are demanding that the UK government stop Rosebank, all new oil and gas, and deliver a just transition to renewable energy.
Equinor’s partner on Rosebank is British-based Ithaca Energy, which is majority-owned by the Israeli energy giant, Delek Group. Delek operates in illegal Israeli settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory and has been named by the UN in a list of businesses whose activities in the West Bank have “raised particular human rights concerns”. Delek also provides fuel to the Israel Defence Forces via its subsidiary, Delek Israel, with military personnel able to refuel at hundreds of petrol stations owned by Delek Israel. If Rosebank goes ahead, Delek could receive £253 million in revenue from the project, raising serious human rights and reputational risks for the UK.
In Norway, Ithaca’s partner Equinor is under investigation by the Norwegian Consumer Authority for a potential breach of a transparency law that requires Norwegian companies to ensure their business operations and relationships respect basic human rights and are in line with international guidelines. This investigation follows a legal complaint by Greenpeace Norway, which argued that Equinor has failed to carry out proper due diligence assessments of its partner on the Rosebank field, Ithaca Energy. In the UK, international human rights organisations have warned that UK ministers must ensure there are no corporate links between a North Sea oil licensee and illegal Israeli settlements.
These are just a few of the reasons to stop the climate-wrecking Rosebank oil field.
Join Parents For Future UK and the rest of the Stop Rosebank campaign in the fight against Rosebank. Find out more here: https://parentsforfuture.org.uk/campaign/stoprosebank/