Your say / Climate
‘Plans for new North Sea oil and gas must be stopped’
I recently took part in a protest in central Bristol organised by the Stop Rosebank Bristol campaign and part of a national day of action.
The protest was held at Cascade Steps in central Bristol and included the wonderful climate choir. We had many passers-by stopping to find out more, and encouraged lots of people to contact their MPs about Rosebank.
The UK government will soon decide whether to reject or approve the Rosebank oil field – the biggest undeveloped oil field in the UK – as Equinor (the Norwegian state-owned oil giant that hopes to develop the field) recently resubmitted its environmental impact assessment, triggering a 30 day consultation.
is needed now More than ever
There are many reasons why Rosebank would be a disaster for our planet.
New North Sea oil and gas would not lower bills or secure our energy supply. In fact Rosebank will likely lead to a net loss of hundreds of millions to the UK Treasury, thanks to tax breaks and subsidies.
Burning Rosebank’s oil and gas would also produce more CO2 than the 28 poorest countries do in a year and bust UK climate goals.
The Rosebank licensing decision has already been overturned once, and new environmental rules rightly make it harder for the project to be approved. But the oil industry will stop at nothing.
Bristol has many wonderful initiatives working to tackle the climate crisis and improve our resilience.
These are too many to list, but include those working towards food security and resilience like Lush Greens and the Community Farm, providing alternative systems like Share Bristol and South Bristol Toy Library, and campaign organisations such as Bristol Airport Action Network and Parents for Future Bath and Bristol.
The people of Bristol now need to get behind this critical campaign to stop Rosebank once and for all.
If you’d like to get involved, writing to your MP is the best way to raise the issue. You can also contribute to the public consultation, open until November 20, at actionnetwork.org/forms/the-government-wants-to-hear-from-you-on-equinors-application-for-rosebank
This is an opinion piece by Ava Lorenc, a Research Fellow in the QuinteT team at Bristol Medical School, Bristol University. She is a mum of two and helps run South Bristol Climate Hub.
Main image: Rob Browne
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