CCL reported back in 2023 that the Rosebank oil field was approved (granted a licence) despite an intensive campaign against it which included MPs and peers from all parties. Carbon Brief’s Simon Evans tweeted that burning all its production – some 300m+ barrels of oil & gas – would be equivalent to the annual emissions of around 90 countries and 400m people! The new government’s veto of the new licensing of oil and gas fields had no effect on this decision as the licence had been granted in 2023.
Production hasn’t started because it is never going to be the easiest oilfield to exploit. New and very welcome rules have now been implemented which price pollution in a way that a comprehensive carbon tax would do but that ETS has not as yet (as it did not cover non-combustion processes like venting). These rules should make it even harder to justify starting production at Rosebank as the current tax regime does little to put companies off, despite windfall taxes which are scheduled to end in 2030.
These rules offer another sound reason to argue that Rosebank should never be exploited and CCL UK urges followers to support the Stop Rosebank campaign at this critical juncture.
On June 19th Stop Rosebank reported that ……
We’ve got some incredible news. The government has announced new rules that mean assessments to approve or reject new oil and gas projects will now finally have to take into account the CO2 produced from burning the fossil fuels in the field itself.
Yes, it’s shocking. Until now, the full amount of pollution from these climate-wrecking projects were not considered in the decisions!
But now, thanks to the pressure we’ve built together, from the Supreme court ruling last year to our 1 million signatures against new oil and gas that we’ve submitted to the government, the rules are more in line with common sense. Despite oil industry spin, this guidance includes an actually serious, credible approach to assessing the harm caused from burning the oil and gas in any new fields including Rosebank.
Rosebank’s owner, Equinor, must reapply for permission if it wants to develop the field. Then, the government can finally make a new decision on Rosebank – one that includes more of the true climate cost.
It will be overwhelmingly obvious that the project is incompatible with the UK’s climate commitments. The climate pollution from burning Rosebank would amount to more than the combined annual CO2 emissions of all 28 lowest-income countries in the world. In fact, the world already has more oil than is safe to burn – most of the world’s remaining oil and gas reserves need to stay buried if we want to keep our liveable climate. Every new oil field makes the world a more dangerous place.
This Labour government cannot claim to care about climate change and approve Rosebank – the maths don’t add up. Whether or not this government follows the science and rejects Rosebank will be a real test of its climate credibility.
This doesn’t mean we’ve won. It means the final decision is getting closer and it’s time to ramp up the heat to make sure that we #StopRosebank for good.
We’ve opened the door to change – now it’s time to kick it wide open. This is the moment to crank up the pressure and we’ve got plans to do exactly that. From mass mobilisations to digital actions, the next phase of the fight is about to begin, and it’s going to be big. Keep your eyes out over the coming weeks on how to join.
You can start building the heat from inside Parliament and Holyrood, by asking MPs and MSPs to pledge to #StopRosebank. The best way to do that is to meet your MP or MSP using our guide. Even if you’ve met or contacted them before, now that Rosebank will be back on the political agenda, it’s a good time to nudge again. This is how we’ve got 20 MPs and 10 MSPs from across parties and the country standing with us.
Meet your MP or MSP
The second best way is to use our email tool to send a new email to your MP or MSP and ask them to pledge. We’ve nearly contacted all of our MPs and MSPs – let’s get to 100%.