We just hit 50,000 signatures on the petition! This is a huge sign of the growing support for ending new fossil fuel projects in the UK. I'm so grateful for every single person that has signed this petition to end new oil & gas fields and who has supported the #StopJackdaw campaign. But we’re not stopping at 50,000 signatures.
Over the past week, the biggest oil companies in the world announced quarterly profits of around £50 billion. While 1 in 3 households face fuel poverty from soaring energy costs, Shell and BP are getting even wealthier. Their profits rise, our bills rise, we lose. Not anymore.
We’re going to keep up the fight to stop Shell’s Jackdaw gas field and all new fields. Here are some key updates from the campaign and some next steps on what you can do to support.
On June 1st, the UK government approved Shell’s Jackdaw gas field, despite knowing that we cannot have any new fossil fuel projects for a liveable future, and that new gas fields like Jackdaw won’t lower our bills. They will only lock us into further climate devastation at a time when we need bold climate action more urgently than ever before.
Shell, which just announced quarterly profits of more than £9 billion, thinks Jackdaw is going ahead, but they couldn’t be more wrong. We will continue to pressure the UK government to reverse their decision on Jackdaw and use every tool we can to delay and eventually stop this field.
Just last week, Greenpeace just launched a legal challenge against the UK government over Jackdaw. This is one of many tactics being used by the groups and individuals who are taking action to #StopJackdaw. This petition is another. To stop this field and all fields like it, we’re going to have to make as much noise about Jackdaw as possible. We don’t have another choice.
Since Jackdaw was approved, we have seen unprecedented heatwaves in the UK, with temperatures reaching 40ºC for the first time, and fires breaking out across London and surrounding areas. As a result, people across the UK and beyond are waking up to the fact that new oil and gas is simply incompatible with a liveable future. We need to pressure the government to:
Reverse their decision on Jackdaw and reject all new oil and gas fields
Tax big polluters properly and stop giving them massive subsidies
Deliver on a just transition to renewables that centres oil and gas workers and their communities
We’ve just heard that energy bills are predicted to rise to more than £3600 for the average household come January. To really lower bills, we need to insulate our leaky homes, invest in renewable energy (which is 4x cheaper than gas) and break our addiction to expensive fossil fuels.
So, what can you do to help?
First of all, if you haven’t already, please share this petition on social media, and with your friends and family. If everyone who has signed the petition convinced even one more person to sign, our 50,000 signatures milestone could be doubled in no time! This is a great starting point to show the UK government that every day more and more people want to stop new fossil fuel projects and fight for an energy system that won’t wreck the planet or push millions into fuel poverty.
We are also organising a #StopJackdaw week of action from 20-27 August, and I’d love for you to get involved. Thousands of us will be taking action in many different ways to pressure the UK government to reverse their decision on Jackdaw and reject all new oil & gas fields. From online actions to local events and to meetings with politicians, there are many ways you can get involved across the UK, either as an individual or as part of a group. Please register for the week of action here.
Beyond that, if you’re interested in becoming more involved in the campaign, we would love to have you at our next welcome call. You can find out when the next one is here.
Thanks so much for reading, signing, and taking action with us. We can stop the fossil fuel industry in its tracks, and create a better society for everyone. We just need to take collective action to create that reality.