PM urged to 'stick to spirit of Labour manifesto' and reject Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields
The plea comes ahead of the public consultation on Rosebank – the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea which lies some 80 miles north west of Shetland – closing on Monday.
Andy Burnham has been urged to “stick to the spirit of Labour’s manifesto commitment” and refuse consent for the controversial Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields.
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Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS) – a campaign group made up of more than 70 different organisations with around one million supporters – insisted the new Prime Minister must block the proposed new developments in the North Sea.
It told the Prime Minister that the lifetime carbon emissions from the two proposed developments could result in up to 65,495 excess heat deaths by the end of this century – adding this would be equivalent to the entire population of the city of Inverness.
A letter to Mr Burnham told how analysts have already linked the heatwaves in May and June this year to more than 2,700 excess deaths in England and Wales.
SCCS added that Scotland also experienced a “devastating wildfire” in the Cairngorms National Park this summer which “required a major and sustained emergency response”.
Read more: Andy Burnham faces renewed calls to block North Sea drilling after wildfires
Read more: Andy Burnham faces choice on drilling as North Sea consultation closes
The plea comes ahead of the public consultation on Rosebank – the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea which lies some 80 miles north west of Shetland – closing on Monday.
A similar exercise for the planned Jackdaw gas field, which lies in waters about 150 miles east of Aberdeen, finished on August 10.
Production at both fields had been approved by the previous Conservative government, but those decisions were quashed after a legal challenge from Greenpeace, leaving Labour ministers to decide now whether or not drilling should go ahead.
It comes as the Met Office said it is “increasingly likely” that 2026 will be the UK’s hottest ever summer, leaving all of Wales and much of England facing drought conditions.
In a letter sent to both the Prime Minister and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, SCCS warned that the “consequences of climate change are already being felt, through more extreme heat, drought, wildfires and growing risks to food insecurity”.
They were told that approving Jackdaw and Rosebank would have “consequences for the UK’s international climate leadership”.
While the campaigners said the UK had “made progress in reducing emissions”, they warned that “credibility will be undermined” if new developments in the North Sea are given the go-ahead.