The UK Labour party has just announced a plan to block all new oil & gas in the North Sea. We know new oil & gas is incompatible with a liveable future. Labour gets it and is ready to #StopRosebank, stop all new fields and deliver a fast and fair transition for industry workers. 

North Sea drilling is a bad deal for the UK public. It won't lower energy bills: we don’t own these reserves, the companies that hold the licences do, who then either export the oil and gas or sell it to us at enormous profit. And then there’s the billions they’re getting in public subsidies.

The owners of the huge Rosebank oil field, the biggest undeveloped oil field in the UK, are set to receive £3.75 billion to develop the field, which like 80% of all UK oil will likely be exported, while they take the profits. It's a rip off.

The only people lobbying for new fields are the oil and gas industry, all so they can keep the profits rolling in. The only way to ensure a reliable and affordable supply of energy for the UK is to build more renewable energy. This is how we lower bills, create jobs for the long term and maintain a liveable climate.

Labour's new position, and that of the Green Party in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, isn't radical. It's common sense and it's the defining line for any party truly committed to tackling the climate crisis. Other parties in the UK need to step up.

To limit warming to 1.5C, we can't have any new oil & gas. It's not just Labour that's been saying this. Here's a small list of the people & institutions that agree new oil & gas projects are incompatible with a safe climate: the International Energy Agency, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN Secretary-General, the British Medical Association, the World Health Organisation and the governments of Denmark, France, Costa Rica, Wales, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Fiji, Tonga and the Solomon Islands.

This announcement is another huge win and thanks to the work of thousands of you across the country. To lower energy bills and deal with the climate crisis we need to free ourselves from oil & gas and massively scale up renewables. Now Labour and all other major parties in the UK must stand in firm opposition to fields like Rosebank and lay out the pathway for a just, worker-led transition to renewable energy.

It's time for all of us to get organised to push to make this happen. Here's how you can join me in doing just that, starting this weekend.

Join the Wave of Resistance against Rosebank and all new oil & gas on June 10th:
 
On June 10th, two weeks after Labour's announcement, thousands of us from across the UK will join a massive wave of resistance against Rosebank - the biggest undeveloped oil field in the UK. From Shetland to Falmouth, we're going to be taking to the sea and to the shores to #StopRosebank and demand an end to the wrecking of our planet and the trashing of our oceans. Here's why:

Rosebank is a huge threat to our climate, our seas and our future. We need to be doing what we can to protect them – the last thing we need is more oil fields and more pipelines. Here's how Rosebank could impact our seas:

• The Rosebank rig would be situated next to a marine protected area, home to endangered species, and the pipeline needed to transport (the tiny amount of gas) reserves from the field cuts right through it.
• Loud drilling, seismic blasting and construction at Rosebank will disturb dolphins, whales and fish - potentially changing behavioural, migrational and living patterns.
• A major oil spill from Rosebank could have devastating impacts on marine life and ecosystems in the UK and neighbouring countries.

But the Wave of Resistance isn't just about stopping new fields like Rosebank. It’s about demanding a just transition for communities and workers, a liveable future and a healthy ocean for everyone.

Thousands of people have joined the fight against this climate-wrecking field so far, and we’re only getting stronger.  Join me and thousands of others this Saturday to take to the shores of the UK to demand the government #StopRosebank and all climate wrecking projects.

More info here: https://www.stopcambo.org.uk/updates/wave-of-resistance