It’s only day one of the new parliament, and Labour has already faced protests right outside

Monday 2 September was the Labour Party’s first day back to work in government – and it immediately faced protests, this time over the controversial Rosebank oil field.

Rosebank is a climate-wrecking carbon bomb

In September 2023, the UK’s oil and gas regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, granted the license for Equinor and Ithaca Energy to develop the notorious Rosebank oil and gas field.

Campaigners have previously estimated that the enormous project – situated off the coast of Shetland in the North Sea – will produce over 500m barrels of oil over its lifetime. This would equate to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of the 28 lowest-income countries combined.

In December 2023, Greenpeace and campaign group Uplift launched another judicial review against the government over Rosebank. Crucially, this sought to overturn the government’s decision to greenlight the Rosebank project.

Now, the new Labour government has dropped the former Tory government’s defence against these challenges.

Labour drops the government’s legal defence

Notably, Labour has recognised that the previous government’s approval was unlawful. This is because the government failed to take into account the impact of the projects’ downstream emissions.

However, Labour dropping the case doesn’t mean the projects are sunk. For one, as the #StopRosebank campaign underscored, the fossil fuel companies could still defend the case.

Moreover, Labour dropping the case was also a PR exercise in it saving ‘the taxpayer’ money. But the government still hasn’t stopped the project altogether. So, campaigners from Fossil Free London descended on parliament on 2 September to loudly voice their concerns:

Not good enough on Rosebank

People held placards warning Labour to drop the project or else:

Cops seemed interested…

Plus, they made some noise in the process:

BREAKING: We're outside parliament with a clear message for MPs returning back after the summer recess: LABOUR GET OFF THE FENCE, SPEAK UP, STOP ROSEBANK

Rosebank will be catastrophic for the climate and will do nothing to lower our energy bills.#StopRosebank pic.twitter.com/qU1UQGuRjX

— Fossil Free London (@fossilfreeLDN) September 2, 2024

Robin Wells, director of Fossil Free London says:

The forest is on fire and we’re running out of road. After the two hottest months ever recorded we’re facing down a fiery future of struggle; unless we get urgent change. Starmer promised us no new oil and gas licenses, which is meaningless unless they come out fully against this carbon bomb – the Norwegian wealth fund’s Rosebank oilfield.

Beyond not defending the case they need to stand boldly in support of its contention: the oil burnt from Rosebank would be a disaster, threatening the erosion of the UK’s coastal towns, freak heat on our streets harming babies and the elderly, and the submersion of London beneath the waves. Labour must stop Rosebank.

Featured image and additional images via Fossil Free London