Bishops, TV stars and charity leaders have joined campaigners to mount pressure against the development of Rosebank oil field ahead of a court case next month. The range of voices make up some 250 signatories who have written to prime minister Keir Starmer, calling on him to stop the development. Last month, the UK government said it will not defend the legal challenges against two controversial North Sea oil field developments, including Rosebank, the other being Jackdaw.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks at the time said it will save taxpayer money to not challenge the judicial reviews. The legal case against the Rosebank, nevertheless, been given the go-ahead and will be heard on November 12 in the Scottish Court of Session. Campaigners said this means the field’s owners - Norway’s majority state-owned oil company Equinor - is alone in driving the project through court.
However, if the campaigners behind the legal case, brought forward by Greenpeace and Uplift, are successful, the decision to reapprove the field will ultimately end up back on the UK government’s desk. Rosebank is 80 miles west of Shetland and contains around 300 million barrels of oil, making it the UK’s last major undeveloped oil site. It is twice the size of the controversial Cambo oil field, also west of Shetland.
The letter, with signatories including the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, representatives from Save the Children and The Church of England, as well as Associate Professor.