Scientists have warned time and time again that governments can't allow more new oil and gas if we want to limit global warming to 1.5C. Rosebank will bust UK climate targets and push us closer to more parts of our world becoming uninhabitable. Rosebank's oil and gas would produce more CO2 than the 28 poorest countries do in a year.
Oil and gas prices are set on a global market, so more domestic production simply doesn’t lower our bills. 90% of the fuel that would be extracted from Rosebank is oil, which would most likely be exported overseas. This isn’t about energy security. Even the last government admitted it.
Thanks to a generous tax system, Norwegian state-owned oil giant Equinor and oil company Ithaca will pass the majority of the cost of developing the Rosebank oil field to the UK public. This means the UK public would hand over BILLIONS in tax breaks to Rosebank’s owners, just to develop the field. UK's biggest gas supplier, Equinor, makes record-breaking profits while millions are struggling to pay their energy bills.
The oil company behind Rosebank and Cambo Ithaca is majority-owned by the Delek Group. Delek has been listed by the UN amongst businesses that are facilitating and profiting from the construction and growth of Israeli settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory. The risk that profits from exploiting the North Sea may flow towards a company linked to settler colonialism in Palestine is indefensible.
The North Sea basin is in decline with jobs having halved in the last decade. New fields like Rosebank won't stem this decline - it will only delay the transition to clean energy. Instead, accelerating the development of renewable energy - and ensuring that manufacturing and other benefits are based in the UK - will deliver the jobs needed.
The marine protected area is home to many endangered and threatened species of dolphins, whales and fish. Loud drilling, seismic blasting and construction could disrupt their behaviour and even cause deaths. A major oil spill would have catastrophic impacts reaching neighbouring countries. Its pipeline would cut through a specially protected seabed which could harm clams that are some of the oldest animals on the planet.
