The reality is that we cannot drill our way out of the climate crisis - Lorna Slater
This week, the UK Government faces a choice that will say a great deal about what kind of country we want to be.
The consultation on the Jackdaw gas field closed yesterday, with the consultation on Rosebank closing next week. Ministers now have the opportunity to listen to the public, look at the evidence and reject both projects. They should do exactly that.
Rosebank and Jackdaw belong to a fossil fuel economy that we should be moving beyond, not expanding. Approving these developments would be completely at odds with the UK’s stated climate ambitions.
The UK has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81 per cent by 2035 and reaching net zero by 2050. It has also explicitly committed to a managed transition in the North Sea and to ending new licences for exploration of new fields.
You cannot credibly claim to be leading the world on climate action while simultaneously opening the door to billions of pounds of new fossil fuel extraction.
The science is clear. Research commissioned by Uplift and academics at UCL has concluded that opening new oil and gas fields is incompatible with keeping global heating within the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C goal.
We already have more fossil fuels available in existing fields than we can safely burn. Developing new fields simply makes the challenge harder. And despite what the oil and gas lobby would have us believe, this is not about keeping household bills down.
Oil and gas are traded on international markets. Extracting more from the North Sea does not give the UK control over the price families pay for their energy. Rosebank’s oil is overwhelmingly expected to be exported, while Jackdaw’s gas would enter a market where prices are still determined by global factors.
If we genuinely want to bring down bills, we should be investing in insulation, renewables, public transport and clean, homegrown energy. Scotland has an extraordinary abundance of wind, tidal and other renewable resources. That is where our energy security lies.
There is also a question of who actually benefits. We are repeatedly told that projects like Jackdaw and Rosebank are essential for jobs and investment. Yet recent analysis suggests Jackdaw itself would create very few direct full-time jobs. Meanwhile, billions of pounds in tax relief can reduce the public cost of fossil fuel development while profits flow to multinational companies.
North Sea workers deserve better than being used as political cover for another generation of fossil fuel extraction. They deserve a properly funded just transition into the industries of the future.
What concerns me most is the growing political pressure being placed on the UK Government to abandon its climate commitments.
Andy Burnham has already described his approach to North Sea oil and gas as “pragmatic”, following pressure from business groups, investors and the fossil fuel industry. Even Donald Trump has publicly encouraged the UK to expand drilling.
Our energy policy should not be written in boardrooms in Houston, Oslo or Washington. It should be decided here, in the interests of people in Scotland and across the UK. This is a test of political courage.
The UK Government can choose to listen to the fossil fuel lobby, or it can listen to the science. It can chase short-term corporate investment, or build the clean energy economy that will provide jobs and security for decades. Jackdaw and Rosebank should be rejected.
We cannot drill our way out of the climate crisis. The North Sea’s future is not more oil and gas. It is clean energy, good jobs and a fair transition for the workers and communities who have powered this country for generations.