Today, we handed in the million-strong petition to 10 Downing Street calling for an end to drilling, a fast and fair transition for industry workers, a “safe” climate and affordable energy. Signatures were gathered across petitions by 350.org, Avaaz, Change.org, Friends of the Earth EWNI, Friends of the Earth Scotland, Global Justice Now, Greenpeace UK, and Stop Rosebank.
Together we are calling for an end to new North Sea drilling, including new projects such as the controversial Rosebank oilfield, as well as a proper plan for transitioning the UK’s oil and gas workforce, which has seen the number of jobs supported by the oil and gas industry more than halve in the past decade as the North Sea declines.
The government has paused approving new fields while it examines how to regulate new drilling - and it is asking us, the public, what we think should happen. For the first time, the UK government is seriously examining the harm that new North Sea oil and gas drilling will do to our climate. This consultation will be crucial in deciding the government’s regulatory approach to billions of barrels of oil and gas in the North Sea and the catastrophic impacts they would have.
Within the next year, we could see the UK government listen to the public and commit to ending new oil and gas production, stopping Rosebank and moving towards a just transition. Or we could deepen our dependence on dirty expensive fossil fuels.
We are only at this pivotal moment thanks to the dedicated pressure from people like you. But the oil and gas lobby will stop at nothing to protect its profit and will try to influence government decisions with misinformation and fearmongering.
If we keep creating enough pressure, we could see the UK take the decisive leap of moving away from fossil fuels. It’s hard to believe but this moment is very much within our grasp. This could inspire global momentum to phase out fossil fuels and create a cleaner, fairer future for everyone.
We want to thank all 1 million of you who have signed the petition. If you haven’t done so already, you can add your name here.
Tomorrow, Trump is flying US officials to the UK Government’s Energy Conference, to fight for fossil fuel profits and sabotage renewables, alongside oil CEOs. The UK could be on the brink of doing something huge: stopping new oil and gas drilling for good. ‘Drill baby drill’ Trump and his fossil-fuel allies know it — and they’ll do what they can to derail our progress. Now we need to be outside of the summit, in our masses, drowning out any influence that Trump and oil CEOs have in that room.
Stop Rosebank spokesperson Lauren MacDonald said: “With more than one million signing this petition, it’s clear that people are sick of sky high energy bills and anxious about the changes we’re seeing to our climate and weather, both of which are as a result of our dependency on volatile oil and gas.
“The UK government needs to stand up to the oil and gas lobby and act in the best interests of people in the UK who are struggling with bills. With the North Sea now in terminal decline, the public knows the only way to secure reliable, affordable energy is through tapping into our renewable resources, like wind, which we’re lucky to have in abundance.
“Extreme weather is accelerating here and across the globe. The impact of the storms and wildfires that parts of the UK have already suffered this year, which are driven by climate change caused by burning fossil fuels, is significant and will get worse without action.”
Friends of the Earth Scotland spokesperson Caroline Rance said: “Oil and gas workers must be at the heart of building a new energy system powered by renewable energy and run in the public interest.
“The UK government should listen to the people and deliver a transition plan that includes job-creating investments in publicly owned wind manufacturing, funding for upgrading our ports, and dedicated training support for offshore oil and gas workers.”
After sixty years of drilling the UK has burned most of its gas and between now and 2050, official projections show that future licensing rounds would deliver an average of just three weeks’ worth of gas a year.
The Government is currently consulting on how to build the North Sea’s clean energy future and has paused approving new drilling while it examines the rules for assessing new UK oil and gas projects to make sure that their true climate impact is taken into account.
The IEA has been clear that there can be no new oil and gas developments if the world is going to have a chance at staying within safe climate limits. This echoes warnings from climate scientists that new oil and gas production is incompatible with limiting global heating to 1.5°C. There is now significant scientific evidence that the emissions from burning the reserves in existing oil and gas fields globally would push us past this limit.
The IEA’s latest energy review also shows declining oil demand with oil falling below 30 percent of the global energy mix in 2024 driven by rising sales of electric vehicles around the world.
