Scores of Labour MPs have urged the prospective prime minister Andy Burnham to rule out the “tin-eared” and “deluded” development of the Rosebank oilfield in the North Sea, which new research indicates would produce as much carbon dioxide as the UK does in 10 months.
Estimates seen by the Guardian show that Rosebank, which mainly contains oil, would produce about 250m tonnes of CO2 over its lifetime. That is the equivalent of about 70% of the UK’s annual emissions.
Last week’s record-breaking heatwave, which may return next week as the weather turns hotter again, showed the folly of exploiting the field, according to many MPs, who argue it would not bring down the price of fuel and would do little for the UK’s economy.
Mike Reader, the Labour MP for Northampton South, said: “Opening up the North Sea would be tin-eared while we’re dealing with record-breaking heat, and the second energy spike in four years caused by our over-reliance on oil and gas. Anyone who thinks this is a good time to take our focus off clean, secure power is frankly deluded.”
Chris Murray, the Labour MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, said: “We are seeing the consequences of our reliance on fossil fuels play out in real time. This is only the hottest June of your life so far. It makes no sense that, as the country swelters, some are calling for us to permit Rosebank, the UK’s largest undeveloped oilfield.
“Colleagues should get behind the real opportunity we have – national control of our energy supply and bills, clean energy manufacturing jobs for Scotland, a future for those affected by the North Sea’s decades-long decline.”
Scotland was already facing damage and destruction from wildfires driven by the climate crisis, added Scott Arthur, the Labour MP for Edinburgh South West. “Wildfires around Edinburgh are becoming a yearly occurrence and last week we saw disruptions across our road and rail networks because of the heat. This is climate change and it is getting worse. We need to get serious about our approach to cutting carbon and work with other countries to tackle climate change.”
Burnham did not mention the North Sea in his speech on Monday setting out his aspirations to return utilities to public control and kickstart industry, but has previously called himself “open-minded” on the issue. He is coming under fierce pressure from the fossil fuel industry, the Conservatives, Reform UK and two unions to abandon Labour’s manifesto pledge to give no further new licenses for oil and gas.
The Rosebank field could, strictly speaking, be given the green light without violating the letter of that promise, as its application was already in the pipeline before Labour entered government.
However, the world’s leading energy economist, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, told the Guardian that Rosebank and other new fields under consideration would not reduce the price of oil or gas and would have little economic impact.
Nigel Farage and others have repeatedly argued that increasing production of North Sea fossil fuels could reduce prices; in fact oil is traded on the international market and the price is set there. Supporters argue that exploiting the fields will generate new jobs. However, this is unlikely to offset continued losses, as the North Sea is a rapidly declining field of which more than 90% of its reserves have been extracted. Jobs in the North Sea sector have been in steep decline for more than 15 years, with an estimated 100,000 lost while the Conservatives were in office.
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Barry Gardiner, the Labour MP for Brent West, said: “Drilling more won’t stem the loss of jobs in oil and gas, they have been falling for years despite attempts to prop up the industry. I ask my colleagues – whose side are we on? Donald Trump, the climate denier, who wants us to ‘drill, baby, drill’, and the oil and gas companies who have made billions [in the last two energy shocks], or ordinary people who are dealing with rising energy bills and are worried about weather that gets more extreme every year?”
At least 60 Labour MPs and MSPs have so far made known their opposition to approving Rosebank’s development, and many have urged Burnham in public and in private not to give in to special pleading.
The UK’s green economy is worth £100bn a year and represents 1m jobs, which tend to be higher paying than average, according to a recent report by CBI Economics. Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, called for Burnham to keep it on track. “We must press on with the energy transition. Drilling more will not cut energy costs as oil and gas will be sold into the global market,” she said. “The energy secretary [Ed Miliband] has called this right and must keep on course to secure a just transition [to clean energy jobs].”
Although Labour has a large parliamentary majority, it has been shown to be potentially fragile. One of the key criticisms of the outgoing prime minister, Keir Starmer, was the number of U-turns he performed after his policies faced opposition within his own party.
