Greta Thunberg has joined her fellow protestors in London to make the demand that the UK Government rejects the controversial Rosebank oil field.
The activists gathered outside the offices of the UK government’s energy security secretary, Grant Shapps, in Westminster claiming a Rosebank approval would be “deliberately destructive” following the extreme heat being recorded around the globe.
This comes the same week that Mr Shapps said granting “every single conceivable licence to the North Sea” would be within the country’s net zero targets.
The energy security secretary added that he looks to “max out” the UK North Sea’s oil and gas reserves, claiming that carbon emissions will still decline at “twice the rate” outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
However, Greta Thunberg argues that drilling for more oil and gas would exacerbate the current issues impacting the people as a result of climate change.
Ms Thunberg said: “How can the British government even consider pressing ahead with new drilling when we can see what the burning of fossil fuels is doing to the climate and to people?”
© Supplied by UpliftShe continued: “The extreme weather events being experienced around the world right now is just a taste of what’s to come if we don’t get off fossil fuels.
“Given everything that we know and can now see with our own eyes, approving Rosebank would be a deliberately destructive act.”
The activist also pointed the finger at Norway saying that the country’s “claim to be a climate leader is absurd” as its government owns shares in Rosebank owner Equinor.
The UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has been contacted for comment.
This week Equinor told shareholders that it is expecting clarification on Rosebank in the not too distant future.
Torgrim Reitan, the company’s chief financial officer, reiterated that the West of Shetland project “will move forward” once approved by the government.
The field development plan for the huge oilfield is currently sitting on the desk of the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED).
© Supplied by UpliftStopRosebank activist and writer Tori Tsui, speaking alongside Thunberg today, said: “The damage we are seeing today is so immense that it is unthinkable that any government would want to send us further down this path.
“Rich, oil producing countries, like the UK and Norway, must lead and that leadership starts with putting an end to new oil and gas developments. There is no justification on earth for approving Rosebank.”
