My letter to Michael Shanks MP on new oil and gas drilling

I’ve written to Michael Shanks MP following the publication of new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) guidance on scope 3 emissions on climate to seek his assurance that this means new drilling at the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields will not go ahead.

The full text of the letter reads:

Dear Michael,

Following the release of The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) guidance on scope 3 emissions on climate, I am writing for your assurances that this means new drilling at the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields will not go ahead.

The welcome new guidance makes clear that Scope 3 emissions must be considered in EIA processes for new oil and gas projects. It also provides a credible approach to assessing Scope 3 emissions, incorporating recommendations submitted by experts. This means the UK government must now, for the first time, take seriously the significant harm that new oil and gas fields will cause to our climate. 

Granting development licenses for Rosebank and Jackdaw would fly in the face of warnings from the world’s climate scientists. Drilling for oil at these sites is not compatible with a safe climate or the UK’s climate commitments – and given this new framework, it seems clear that they would not meet the standards your government has set.  Burning Rosebank’s reserves alone could create more than 200 million tonnes of CO2, equivalent to running 56 coal-fired power stations for a year. Last week a groundbreaking report from University College London warned that opening new oil and gas fields in the North Sea would be fundamentally incompatible with the goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C, which the UK signed up to in the Paris Agreement. Adding new oil and gas wells like Rosebank adds fuel to the fire and pushes us closer to more parts of our world becoming uninhabitable.

It is imperative that the government bases its decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw on this scientific evidence. I am therefore trusting that you will take this opportunity to clearly rule out their development, and signal to the companies that they should not reapply for permission. I also urge you to further make clear that, alongside the commitment not to issue any new oil and gas licences, your government will reject any existing oil and gas extraction projects that are pending a licensing or approval decision. 

This comes at a critical moment, with climate scientists warning that the planet’s remaining carbon budget to meet the international target of 1.5°C has just two years left at the current rate of emissions. In the UK today we are experiencing soaring temperatures, wildfires which have burned over 29,000 hectares of land already this year, and drought conditions. 

Next week the Climate Change Committee will publish its latest mitigation report and reiterate the multiple benefits of acting at pace to meet our climate targets. To ensure the UK’s climate credibility and to counter politically motivated climate delay and denial, the government must be unambiguous about the need to follow the science, protect us from endless polluting, and stop drilling going ahead at Rosebank and Jackdaw.

I would be grateful for your assurance that, following this guidance, both applications will be rejected.

Yours sincerely, 

Carla

Carla Denyer MP

Member of Parliament for Bristol Central 

Co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales