PROTESTERS gathered outside the Scottish Parliament to call on the Scottish Government to stand against the Rosebank oil field.
It came amid a flurry of campaigning on the last day of the consultation on the controversial proposed fossil fuel development west of Shetland.
Neither the UK nor Scottish government have backed or opposed the plans, with the Scottish Greens last week saying that clarity was “nowhere to be seen” from the SNP .
Jean Kemp, an activist with campaign group Global Justice Dundee, said: “The fact that the Scottish Government has still not vocally opposed Rosebank shows it is not treating the climate crisis with the seriousness it deserves.
“We are urging the Government to speak up against the continued destruction of our environment to increase the profits of these greedy corporations.”
Anti-Rosebank protesters (Image: Scottish Borders Climate Action Network)
More than 250 organisations, including the RSPB, Amnesty International and the Church of Scotland, have written a letter to the Prime Minister saying that backing the project would harm his climate credibility.
Campaigners say that the projected CO2 emissions from Rosebank – equivalent to 28 of the world’s poorest countries combined – mean that it would not be compatible with the UK Government’s climate commitments.
Caroline Rance, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said that leaders “stand up and act on what the science tells us, which is that the world already has far more oil and gas than is safe to burn”.
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She added: “Climate breakdown is all around us, and the poorest and most vulnerable people are being hit the hardest. We know fossil fuels are causing it. The impacts of increasingly extreme weather, from the devastation caused by hurricane Melissa or this summer’s droughts and wildfires here at home, are plain to see.
“The UK Government must show leadership on the world stage by saying no to new oil and instead deliver a fair and fast transition to renewable energy that truly benefits workers and communities.”
Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, has also backed the anti-Rosebank campaign, saying: “Keir Starmer needs to stop play-acting at climate leadership and actually make a stand, which means rejecting Rosebank and doubling down on creating secure, well-paid clean energy jobs that workers in Scotland and across the UK need.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski
“Approving Rosebank would make a mockery of the UK’s climate promises and be a betrayal of every young person in this country. It would do nothing to lower bills or boost our energy security. All it would do is keep us locked into a declining industry that puts profits above all else.
“Instead of caving in to the oil and gas industry and its cheerleaders, Trump and Farage, Keir Starmer needs to show real climate leadership and reject Rosebank once and for all.”
Elsewhere, there have been calls for the UK Government to end the windfall tax on oil and gas companies.
Bob Sanguinetti, chief executive of the Port of Aberdeen, said: “Oil and gas jobs are disappearing at a rate of almost 1000 a month and new opportunities in renewables aren’t materialising quickly enough.
“Supporting existing energy business is the most likely way of accelerating the transition, drawing on the expertise and project management skills to deliver the vast scale of potential developments in renewables.
“Our ask is clear and urgent. Government must create a stable, supportive environment for our world-leading homegrown oil and gas sector and work with industry to accelerate the deployment of offshore wind.
“We risk being stranded between two energy eras. If we lose the people and skills needed to power energy transition, the opportunity will sail past our shores.”