Tag: Rosebank

Rosebank decision is an ‘act of vandalism’ say campaigners ahead of Saturday protests

++ Protests in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and across UK call on Rishi Sunak to reverse the decision to drill ++

Rishi Sunak is accused of ‘an act of vandalism’ in approving the huge Rosebank oil field, as campaigners protest around the country against the decision.

On Wednesday, the UK Government gave permission to Equinor, the Norwegian state-backed oil company, to develop Rosebank, which is the UK’s largest undeveloped oil and gas field off the coast of Shetland.

Stop Rosebank protests will take place around the country, including in Edinburgh – where campaigners will rally outside the UK Government building – as well as Aberdeen, London, Sheffield and Cambridge. A protest is also happening today (Friday 29 September) outside the headquarters of Equinor in Oslo, Norway.

Edinburgh 16th September 2023. Campaigners march through Edinburgh to demand a fair and fast transition away from fossil fuels as part of a Global Day of Action. Neil Hanna www.neilhannaphotography.co.uk 07702 246823

Stop Rosebank campaigner, Lauren MacDonald said: “This is nothing but a destructive and pointless act of vandalism by Rishi Sunak. Rosebank will not increase energy security or do anything to lower fuel bills.

“Rosebank’s oil mostly belongs to Norway, and the majority will be shipped abroad and then sold back to us at market price. It will, though, exacerbate the climate crisis, which is behind the temperature rises, wildfires and flooding we’re seeing around the world.

“The oil and gas lobbyists and Conservative Party donors invested in fossil fuels attending this week’s party conference will no doubt be delighted with this decision. But handing over billions in tax breaks for oil for export makes zero sense to the millions of ordinary people in this country who can’t afford their heating bills.”

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns, Mary Church said: “The UK government’s reckless decision to approve Rosebank completely disregards all credible climate science and risks keeping households locked in to expensive, polluting fossil fuels for even longer.

“People can see and feel the mounting evidence of climate breakdown and they know that pouring fuel on the fire will only worsen the extreme weather we’re enduring.

“Stop Rosebank protests this weekend will show that we will keep fighting together for a liveable future, and for a fast and fair transition away from oil and gas. Our collective dream of a safe future for all is even more powerful than the destructive fossil fuel industry’s greed for profit.”

DETAILS OF THE PROTESTS

Protests will take place at the following locations and times on Saturday 30 September:

London: 12pm at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, 3 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2AW. Protestors will march to the Norwegian Embassy, 25 Belgrave Square London SW1X 8QD.

Edinburgh: 4pm outside the Queen Elizabeth building at 1 Sibbald Walk in Edinburgh EH8 8FT. Rally and speeches outside the building

Aberdeen: 12.30pm at the North Sea Transition Authority, 1 Marischal Square, Aberdeen, AB10 1BL

Liverpool: 10.30am outside Barclays Bank, 48-50 Lord Street, Liverpool, L21TD

Sheffield: 2-4pm at the Town Hall, Pinstone Street, Sheffield, S1 2HH

Huddersfield: 10.30-11.30am at St George’s Square, Outside railway station, Huddersfield, HD1 1JB

Todmorden: 1-2pm at Todmorden Town Hall, Bridge Street, Todmorden, OL14 5AQ
Cambridge: 12.30pm at Senate House, Trinity Street, Cambridge, CB2 1SZ

Bristol: 1pm at College Green, Bristol, BS1 5TR

Oxford: 12pm at Carfax Tower, Queen St, Oxford, OX1 1ET. Note: this protest is on Sunday 1 October

Fringe visitors call on Humzah to ‘get off the fence’ on Rosebank oil

Hundreds of attendees and performers at the Edinburgh festivals have signed a letter calling on First Minister Humza Yousaf to speak out against the controversial Rosebank oil field.

Activists spoke to visitors from around the world during the festival about the Scottish Government’s failure to clearly oppose the Rosebank field despite the climate harm it will cause.

The letter to Yousaf is signed by well known comedians such as Frankie Boyle, award nominee Julia Masli and Scottish actor Tam Dean Burn, as well as hundreds of visitors. The letter says “the time for sitting on the fence is long past” and his failure to speak out risks “becoming a tacit approval for these projects.”

There is a growing cross-party consensus that the Rosebank project should not go ahead, with Nicola Sturgeon, UK Labour, the Scottish Greens and the Chair of official advisors at the UK Committee on Climate Change all speaking out against the development.  When the Scottish Government finally publicly opposed the Cambo oil field in 2021, Shell paused it soon afterwards.

Campaigners believe that the Scottish Government’s opposition would put further pressure on the UK Government to reject the application to drill the field. The First Minister has stated that he is “not convinced” that the Rosebank project should be given the green light, but he has not yet opposed the project outright.

Scottish actor Tam Dean Burn who performed in the immersive theatre show “Revelations of Rab McVie” commented: “As well as hosting the fringe, Scotland is home to a massively polluting North Sea oil and gas industry so what happens with that matters to all of us.

“The eyes of the world are on Scotland to see how it can safely and swiftly transition to an energy system powered by renewables instead. More fossil fuels anywhere are taking us all in the wrong direction.”

Julia Masli is an Estonian-born, UK based clown who was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award this year for her show ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha where she solves the audience’s problems. She said: “This is a big problem that requires immediate solution.”

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s oil and gas campaigner Freya Aitchison said: “People come to Edinburgh from all over the world to perform at and attend the Fringe, and from the outside it looks like Scotland is a green and forward-thinking place. From hundreds of conversations in the streets last month, it’s clear that people are frustrated that in reality the Scottish Government doesn’t always live up to this reputation.

“The Scottish Government needs to get off the fence and oppose the climate disaster that is the Rosebank oil field. For too long, they have been dodging the issue and it is time the First Minister gave a clear answer to those asking whether he thinks the development should go ahead.

“Approving new fossil fuel projects will do nothing to lower energy prices, meanwhile burning oil and gas is fuelling the extreme weather we see on every continent which is killing people and destroying lives. Every oil and gas development approved now takes us further away from a fair and fast transition to renewable energy.“

Rosebank is the biggest undeveloped oil field in UK waters containing an estimated 500 million barrels of oil. Burning this oil will produce more climate pollution than dozens of countries do each year. Its developer, the Norwegian oil giant Equinor, is set to receive a tax break of £3.75 billion from the UK Government if the Rosebank project gets the green light.

Over 500 people signed the open letter to Humza Yousaf which can be read at:

https://scot.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b5ad0d61b2a67d22c68bf7d8d&id=0d3e2c0ca9&e=195fc3d780

Equinor banks on £3.75 BILLION tax break while posting ‘outrageous’ profits

“The world is burning and the UK Government is helping the arsonists pay for the fuel”

Climate campaigners have reacted with outrage at the news that Norwegian oil giant Equinor has today announced pre-tax profits of £5.8 billion (US$7.5 billion) in JST THE LAST THREE MONTHS.

Campaigners said that with climate-induced fires sweeping Greece “the UK Government is helping the arsonists pay for the fuel” with a massive tax break for Equinor to develop a new oil field.

Equinor’s flagship project in the UK, the controversial Rosebank oil field, is in line to pocket a tax break of £3.75 billion from the UK Government to incentivise its development. This deliberate loophole in the Windfall Tax means that 91% of the cost of developing the 500 million barrel field will be covered by the public purse, despite Equinor’s massive profits and the fact that 80% of Rosebank’s oil will be exported.

Campaigners in Aberdeen yesterday delivered a giant ‘cheque’ to the Equinor offices to highlight the injustice of the tax break.

Last year, Equinor broke records with pre-tax yearly profits of £62 billion (US$74.9billion), benefiting from increased prices for oil and gas due to the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, energy bills for consumers skyrocketed and millions were pushed into fuel poverty.

There has been widespread opposition to the Rosebank field, with public protests across the UK, politicians including SNP MPs Tommy Sheppard and Mhairi Black and the head of the UK Government’s own climate advisory committee, Lord Deben, speaking out against the project.

A decision on Rosebank is rumoured to be scheduled for after the summer recess, following delays due to concerns that the project would not meet net zero commitments under the North Sea Transition Deal.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s oil and gas campaigner Freya Aitchison said: “These outrageous profits every quarter serve as a stark reminder that companies like Equinor have no intention of changing their ways.

“Fossil fuel giants are simply making too much money from upholding the climate-destroying status quo. Adding insult to injury is the massive tax break Equinor will receive should they go ahead with Rosebank, showing how the UK Government would rather hand out public money than say no to big polluters.

“Grant Shapps and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero are blatantly ignoring the devastating impacts of climate breakdown, exemplified most recently in the terrifying wildfires in Greece.

“By cheerfully inviting oil companies to drill for yet more polluting fossil fuels, they are effectively denying the reality of the climate crisis. The world is burning and the UK Government is helping the arsonists pay for the fuel.

“The Scottish Government can no longer sit on the fence on this climate denial and must speak out against Rosebank and all other new fossil fuel projects. We need a just transition to clean, affordable energy now.”

BREAKING NEWS: British Gas parent company Centrica has just posted it’s highest ever profits – £969 million in first six months of this year. Shell, too, has just posted eye-watering profits.

No cost of living crisis for these companies …

Rosebank: Scottish Government fails to oppose controversial project as Equinor lobbies for more drilling

Climate campaigners have challenged the Scottish Government to speak out against the controversial Rosebank oil field as they revealed details of the lobbying operation by the Norwegian oil giant Equinor who are behind the project.

New data compiled by Friends of the Earth Scotland show that from the 2021 election until end of 2022,  Equinor has met 13 times with MSPs including five times with Scottish Government Ministers.[1] The lobbying register also shows that oil lobby group Offshore Energies UK, who represent Equinor, met with members of the Scottish Parliament at least 36 times over the last two years.

With a UK Government decision on the massive Rosebank oil field drawing closer, Humza Yousaf once again refused to oppose the project when questioned by journalists at the All Energy Conference in Glasgow yesterday. Equinor also faced protests in Norway, Aberdeen and London to coincide with its AGM.

Prior to announcing its formal application to develop the Rosebank field in August 2022 Equinor pursued meetings with 8 MSPs in the North East and Shetland to convince MSPs to back the project, the data shows.

Oil extraction from Rosebank was also discussed at the 2022 Cross Party Group on Oil and Gas, chaired by oil lobby group Offshore Energies UK, and attended by six MSPs. The group lists amongst its aims: “to encourage greater recognition of the importance of the oil and gas industry to Scotland”. [2]

The Scottish Government has repeatedly failed to officially state their opposition to Equinor’s plans to develop the 500 million barrels of oil in Rosebank, despite Nicola Sturgeon speaking out against the much smaller Cambo oil field in 2021. None of the MSPs lobbied have called for the project to be stopped or signed the motion of opposition lodged by Monica Lennon MSP. [3]

Equinor is 67% owned by the Norwegian state and posted £9.5billion pre-tax profits for first 3 months of 2023, in addition to the £62billion in profits before tax for 2022. Despite their claims to be a ‘broad energy company’ more than 99 percent of Equinor’s energy production comes from fossil fuels.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s campaigner Freya Aitchison said: “This research highlights the insidious power that Equinor and other fossil fuel companies have over decision making processes in Scotland.

“The scale and reach of the Equinor lobbying operation designed to influence the Scottish Government should be extremely alarming to anyone who takes the climate crisis seriously.

“For decades, the fossil fuel industry has denied and delayed the need for real climate action, and it is clear that it has significant means to continue doing so. Companies like Equinor have too much vested interest in continuing business as usual and cannot be trusted to play a meaningful part in a transition away from fossil fuels.

“99% of Equinor’s output is fossil fuels and the company is planning for the expansion of oil and gas drilling across the world, with the Rosebank project as well as others in Canada, Argentina and Norway. We know that in order to stay within agreed climate limits we can have no new investments in fossil fuel infrastructure, yet Equinor is deliberately ignoring the science and trying to persuade politicians to let it continue profiting from new extraction.

“There can be no place for the fossil fuel industry in decision-making around climate change – just as tobacco companies were banned from public health decision-making spaces, fossil fuel companies such as Equinor need to be denied access to power and influence in order for real change to happen.”

“To avoid catastrophic climate breakdown, and do our fair share globally, we must phase out oil and gas in this decade. First Minister Humza Yousaf has the chance to chart a new path away from fossil fuels without the industry trying to call the shots. If his Government is serious about tackling the climate crisis and delivering a just transition, it must cut ties with the fossil fuel industry and ban them from lobbying.”

Equinor’s influence peddling is aided by the revolving door – whereby politicians and officials jump from public office into lucrative industry lobbying jobs – or vice versa. Equinor’s Vice President Political and Public Affairs Global, David Cairns, was formerly the British Ambassador to Sweden and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Director for the Nordic Baltic Region. [4]

Cairns has had at least 8 lobby meetings with MSPs in 2022 and met with Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy, Kate Forbes, during COP26 in November 2021. Every single meeting Cairns has had on behalf of Equinor gives the same description of purpose in the Lobbying Register – demonstrating the limitations of lobbying transparency rules. The meetings discussed Equinor’s “broad energy portfolio of oil & gas, offshore wind and low carbon activities” and “Future opportunities for engagement with MSPs in the Scottish Parliament”.

UK Government ‘ignoring elephant in the room’ on oil and gas production

Environmental campaigners have said that the UK Government needs to address the ‘elephant in the room’ of domestic oil and gas production as it unveils a raft of energy announcements geared towards meeting climate commitments.

The UK Government’s ‘energy revolution’ package was silent on the urgent need to phase out North Sea oil and gas. This is despite the mounting climate crisis and scientists’ repeated warnings that the use of fossil fuels must be significantly reduced this decade.

Approval of the controversial Rosebank oil field is thought to be imminent, while the decision to offer over 100 new exploration licences shows the UK Government’s climate-denying commitment to long term oil and gas expansion.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Mary Church said: “With this package the UK Government is trying to greenwash its woeful lack of climate ambition and ignoring the massive elephant in the room of its own oil and gas expansion plans.

“This Government cannot be taken seriously on climate whilst it looks set to approve the hugely polluting Rosebank oil field and deliver billions in public subsidies to make that controversial project happen. Fossil fuels are driving both climate breakdown and the cost of living crisis yet the UK Government looks set to slam its foot down on the accelerator.

“Failure from politicians to put an end date on oil and gas, and properly plan and support the transition to renewables is leaving workers totally adrift on the whims of fossil fuel companies, and the planet to burn. Workers and communities most affected must be at the heart of planning the transition to decent green renewable jobs.”

Amongst today’s announcements was more detail on the process for public subsidies for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. The Scottish cluster, which includes the controversial Scottish Government backed Acorn project, could move forward under a new application process launched today.

Ms Church continued: “The UK Government is throwing public money at fossil fuel companies to try and prolong this climate-wrecking industry through the pipe dreams of carbon capture. These CCS projects risk yet more missed climate targets and turning the seas off Scotland into Europe’s carbon dumping ground.

“Politicians at both Westminster and Holyrood need to wake up and realise that carbon capture is a dangerous distraction from the urgent and necessary work of cutting climate emissions at source and delivering a just transition away from fossil fuels. The Scottish Government must chart a different course from Westminster, end its over-reliance on speculative negative emissions technologies, and focus on the real solutions that can cut carbon and improve people’s lives now. ”

SNP voters back rapid move away from oil & gas, new polling shows

++ YouGov polling of SNP voters shows overwhelming support for UK to ‘get off oil and gas as quickly as possible’

++ First Minister candidates are urged to speed progress towards a fair and fast energy transition for workers and communities

A YouGov poll of 1,000 SNP voters has shown that there is huge support for a quicker move away from oil and gas to ensure access to reliable and affordable energy. A majority of respondents who expressed an opinion supported a ban on exploration for new oil and gas, and opposed the controversial Rosebank oil field.

Campaigners say that the candidates to be First Minister must lay out their vision for how Scotland will move away from oil and gas in a fair and fast way, in line with climate science. The next First Minister will be selected by SNP members in the coming weeks.

The respondents also back more support for affected workers and communities to help them benefit from the transition away from fossil fuels. The YouGov poll for Uplift/ Friends of the Earth Scotland was carried out on 22/23 Feb 2023.

Polling results:

  + 70% of SNP voters support the UK to ‘get off oil and gas as quickly as possible’ by ramping up efforts to improve energy efficiency and developing lots more renewable energy.
Just 4% thought the UK should ‘continue to meet its energy demand primarily with oil and gas for as long as is necessary’
  + 45% support for a ban on new exploration for oil and gas (compared to 39% who did not support, and 16% who said they didn’t know)
  + 86% of SNP voters thought more support should be given to oil and gas workers to transition to green jobs
  + 62% of respondents thought that not enough was being done to ensure communities in North East Scotland were ready and able to benefit from the transition away from oil and gas.
  + 89% of SNP voters were supportive of the creation of a ‘publicly owned company to produce energy’ which would ‘ensure the benefits of the transition to renewables are more widely shared’

Friends of the Earth Scotland head of campaigns Mary Church commented: “As the campaign to be the next First Minister hots up, any credible candidate must put the need for a fair and fast transition away from fossil fuels at the heart of their vision for Scotland’s future. Backsliding on fossil fuels or supporting UK Government plans to drill for more oil would only exacerbate the climate crisis.

“Rapidly bringing down emissions while protecting affected communities and workers through this transition will be one of the defining challenges of the coming decade. This transformation to a climate safe future must prioritise meeting the needs of ordinary people  rather than clinging on to an outdated energy system that only benefits profiteering oil companies.

“From banning fracking and opposing the Cambo field, to asking how soon to phase out oil and gas in the recent energy strategy, Nicola Sturgeon has started to steer the SNP away from its long-standing allegiance to fossil fuels. Her successor must continue in this direction and swiftly rule out support for any new fossil fuels, and put a plan in place to end reliance on oil and gas within this decade.”

Lauren MacDonald from Stop Rosebank commented: “People in Scotland understand that there is no future in new fields like Rosebank and are tired of being rinsed by oil and gas producers.

“They can see that the public harms outweigh the benefits, whether it’s the more than half a billion pounds in public subsidies Rosebank will get, despite the industry raking in billions, or the vast emissions from burning its reserves.”

“It’s also clear from this polling that people want a proper, managed transition, which won’t happen as long as new drilling is allowed to continue.

“Anyone aspiring to lead the party and Scotland needs to not just acknowledge these views but make sure they are heard loud and clear in Westminster.”

***

The UK Government’s decision is imminent on the approval of Rosebank, which is the largest undeveloped oil field in UK waters. The Scottish Government has said that new fossil fuels are not the answer to either the cost of living crisis or the climate emergency.

Nicola Sturgeon has said that her Government will end its support for drilling every last drop of oil and gas as part of its new Energy Strategy. The Scottish Government is also consulting on whether there should be a presumption against exploring for new oil and gas and limits on existing fields.  A quicker phase out of oil and gas is needed in order to limit global heating to the critical 1.5oC threshold.

Despite commitments by the Scottish Government to co-design the Just Transition Plan for the energy sector, direct involvement of oil and gas workers has been limited to an online survey so far. The chair of the Just Transition Commission wrote to the Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work about his ‘deep concern’ after the Government failed to consult with them on the development of the Plan. The Plan includes a number of Just Transition outcomes but no route map to delivering them.

In 2017, the Scottish Government announced they would support a publicly owned energy company but subsequently dropped the idea. There has been criticism that the huge Scotwind project has privatised the opportunity for offshore wind, risking a failure to deliver supply chain benefits, protections for workers and a long term source of revenue to the public purse.

UK Labour have pledged to create a Great British Energy company to generate ‘clean power’ if they get into UK Government.

Climate experts have been clear that there can be no new fossil fuel projects if the world is to stay within agreed climate limits of 1.5C of warming.