There is only one choice for public safety. Stop new oil.
Campaigners from Stop Rosebank, Fossil Free London, Christian Climate Action and Greenpeace, demonstrated outside the Department for Energy and Net Zero this week to protest against the Rosebank oil field.
Protesters depicted heaven and hell futures as they demanded Andy Burnham, the British prime minister, reject new oil and gas fields.
On one side, supporters dressed in light clothing holding ‘clouds’ represent a safe, liveable future. On the other side, people dressed in dark clothing holding ‘flames’ symbolise a burning dystopia driven by continued fossil fuel expansion.
Pressure
Robin Wells, director of Fossil Free London said: "We are asking the [British] Government for climate action - proactive steps to restore nature, protect the crops of our farmers, and invest more in energy saving solutions like heat pumps.
"We are also in the absurd position of asking them not to take a sledgehammer to the thin pane of glass that stands between us and disaster. To not take climate wrecking action. Which is what Rosebank and Jackdaw would be.
"We know the oil lobby is in their ear but they can choose light over dark. There’s only one choice that doesn’t push us towards more river tsunamis, national parks on fire and the AMOC collapsing, sending London to minus 20 degrees. There is only one choice for public safety. Stop new oil."
The Rosebank decision is a key test for this Labour government and follows this summer’s record temperatures, which claimed thousands of lives, strained hospitals, schools and transport systems, and saw UK’s firefighters tackle more than 1,000 wildfires across the country.
Labour is also facing internal pressure to reject new drilling, with scores of its own backbenchers among a growing number of MPs and MSPs – over 80, to date – pledging to oppose the project on climate, economic and human rights grounds.
Criticism
A majority of UK business leaders also support the government’s efforts to phase out fossil fuels from the UK’s power system, a new survey has revealed.
Rosebank, which is the UK’s largest undeveloped oil field, would, if approved, produce over 250 million tonnes of CO2e, equivalent to around 70 per cent of UK annual emissions – making Rosebank incompatible with international climate goals and national climate commitments.
Campaigners point out that Rosebank will also do nothing to lower energy bills or improve energy security in Britain, as the vast majority of the field’s reserves are oil for export.
In his recent speech to the UN, Burnham reaffirmed his commitment to tackling climate change, calling it a ‘national security threat’ and pledging that Britain will continue to lead on the issue ‘to protect our children and grandchildren’ and the natural world.
The government has faced sustained criticism over its approach to new North Sea oil and gas, with campaigners warning that approving further fossil fuel projects is incompatible with tackling the climate emergency.
This Author
Brendan Montague is an editor of The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from Fossil Free London.
