The #StopRosebank And #StopCambo Campaigns
ClimaTalkSep 19, 2023
The Facts
The UK's Northeast Transition Authority on Wednesday approved Norway-based energy company Equinor to develop the Rosebank oil and gas field, located northwest of the Shetland islands in the North Sea.
Though oil production in the UK has declined in the last 20 years, the industry still employs over 200K people. The government says it will invest £6.3B (about $7.6B) into companies contracted to build it, including Equinor as the major stakeholder and Ithaca Energy with a 20% holding.
The Spin
Left narrative
Despite previous successful campaigns to stop oil field drilling, like that of the Cambo oil field last year, the UK government has shown it's still willing to put oil industry profits over the environmentally literate will of the people. This is a devastating setback in the fight to end fossil fuel burning, but the fight must not stop until Britain has secured a clean energy future for incoming generations.
Right narrative
The UK, even under the Conservative party, is still devoted to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. However, Sunak's government is also aware that you can't simply ban working Britons from driving gas cars or using oil burners, as that would absolutely destroy them economically. The UK, in line with its neighbors like Germany, is on a decades-long path to rolling back fossil fuels in a strong but careful manner.