After hottest day on record, Rosebank oil field would be a climate disaster
There is no excuse for new oil and gas exploration in a climate emergency, say the Scottish Greens. This week has seen the world’s hottest day on record, on July 03, which followed the UK’s hottest June on record.
At nearly 500 million barrels, Rosebank is the biggest undeveloped oil and gas field in the North Sea. Last year the UK government announced that it could approve over 100 new oil and gas exploration licences as part of its latest licensing round.
Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman said:
“Our planet has just had its hottest day on record. Ever. What could be more urgent? It can’t just be another headline in a newspaper. It must be a turning point for national and international climate action.
“We are seeing soaring temperatures, wildfires and climate chaos across the world, including here in Scotland. Yet the fossil fuel giants and complicit governments like the one in Downing Street are planning even more oil and gas exploration.
“Developing and drilling Rosebank would be a climate disaster. It would make an already unsustainable situation even worse, and would pave the way for even greater climate breakdown.
"Yet the Tories have said they want to develop Rosebank, and Labour has said they won’t try to stop them. This is utterly reckless!
“If we want to have a liveable future then we must end oil and gas exploration, and drastically cut our dependence on planet-wrecking fossil fuels.
“That means a generation-defining push for renewables and a fair and just transition that embraces and supports the communities and workers who have relied on the oil and gas industry.
“That just transition is vital to communities in the North East of Scotland, which I represent, and around the world. Those communities, workers and their skills should be right at the heart of building a fairer, greener future.
“We have the knowledge and technology to build an economy that works for people and planet. We must embrace the opportunity while we still have the time. The cost of inaction is unthinkable.”