Just a week after he rolled back his government’s net zero targets, Sunak said the decision by the North Sea Transition Authority to green light drilling in the North Atlantic was required as part of the transition to renewable energy.
“We recognise the significant contribution the oil and gas sector makes to Scotland. However, our future is not in unlimited oil and gas extraction. It is in accelerating our just transition to renewables."In the face of a climate catastrophe, the UK Government have dropped their green pledges & committed to approving 100 new oil and gas licences. That isn't climate leadership. It is climate denial.
"Rosebank will play a big role in that, as well as growing our economy and providing skilled jobs in Scotland for generations to come." He also said Rosebank "will be providing over 1,600 jobs. It's going to be providing a significant amount of tax revenues for the treasury going forwards". “ We shouldn’t have to fight this government for cheap, clean energy and a liveable climate, but we will."T
"There is widespread anger at this irresponsible decision and we will keep up the pressure on the UK and Scottish Governments to reject the Rosebank oil field, as well as taking the fight directly to Equinor and Rosebank's corporate financiers." "We have around 283 fields in the North Sea, but over 180 of those will stop producing within the next decade.Scotland's former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon posted on social media that she agrees with Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, who described the decision to give consent to Rosebank as the "greatest act of environmental vandalism in my lifetime".
Shadow business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: "We don't support Rosebank, we think the priority for the country should be transitioning away from fossil fuel partly because of the volatility of the price of fossil fuels. And we've seen since Russia's invasion of Ukraine just what that has meant not just for heating prices but for electricity"