Andy Burnham urged to resist calls to block Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields
Prime Minister stresses need to ‘face up to the changing climate’ and for ‘clean energy’ in wake of summer heatwaves
Andy Burnham has been urged resist calls to block new oil and gas fields in the North Sea because of concerns over climate change heightened by this summer’s heatwaves.
A consultation on Jackdaw, a gas field 150 miles east of Aberdeen, closed on August 10, while another on the Rosebank oil field, north-west of Shetland, will end on Monday.
Production at both sites was approved by the Conservatives, but a court quashed those decisions last year after a court challenge, leaving the Labour UK government to decide whether to go ahead.
The Burnham administration had been widely expected to give the go-ahead, despite warnings from environmental campaigners that doing so would pave the way for extreme heat in years ahead.
But, speaking in Stourbridge in the West Midlands on Friday, where 19 houses were fully destroyed and 18 damaged in a wildfire this week, the Prime Minister stressed he wanted to see an acceleration towards fossil fuel-free energy sources.
Almost three-quarters of England and the whole of Wales are in drought, and 2026 is the first year on record to see three separate days where temperatures reached the 37C threshold, as well as the first year with four days at 36C or above.
“We have to face up to the changing climate and I think we need a different debate about that,” Mr Burnham said.
“There’s no point denying where we are – we need to face up to it.
“We need more clean energy. We need to see that transition accelerate.”
Mr Burnham has faced pressure from Washington DC to approve drilling in the North Sea.
US president Donald Trump has said not allowing new drilling would leave the UK as “a bankrupt country” but added he thought Mr Burnham was “going to actually open up” oil and gas fields.
The Prime Minister has previously said he would “take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea”.
Mr Burnham’s comments on Friday were welcomed by environmental campaigners.
But supporters of further extraction in the North Sea said the Prime Minister should not allow the recent hot weather to sway decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw.
Russell Borthwick, chief executive at Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “The Prime Minister and Energy Secretary should resist the increasingly sensationalised narrative being pushed by parts of the climate lobby and instead base these decisions on the facts.
“The Climate Change Committee’s own analysis is clear that the UK will still need up to 15 billion barrels of oil and gas over the coming decades, even as we deliver net zero. The question, therefore, is not whether we use oil and gas, but where it comes from.
“We can produce more of what we need here in the UK, under some of the most stringent environmental standards in the world, supporting British jobs, investment and energy security, or we can become increasingly reliant on imports from overseas.
“That choice matters for the climate too. Gas from Jackdaw will have a production emissions footprint around eight times lower than the LNG we import from countries such as Qatar and the United States. If the objective is to reduce emissions, climate action must start with replacing higher-carbon imports with cleaner domestic production.”
Mr Borthwick said approving the fields should the “obvious first step for a government serious about energy security, economic growth and reducing emissions”.
“With North Sea production declining by around 10 per cnet every year, Britain needs continued investment in new fields, tiebacks and exploration simply to slow that decline and reduce the amount of energy we import,” he said.
“The Prime Minister now has an opportunity to reset this debate, move beyond ideology and pursue a pragmatic all-energy policy based on the reality of Britain’s future energy needs. Jackdaw and Rosebank are the place to start.”
Steve Gray, co-founder of Ventex, a climate tech venture studio which invests in business across all energy, warned the UK has become a “complete international outlier” over domestic energy policy.
Mr Gray said: “No other major oil and gas producing nation is deliberately accelerating the decline of its own production while demand remains and then choosing to replace that lost energy with higher-carbon imports from overseas.
“Countries around the world understand that energy security, economic security and the energy transition have to be pursued together. Yet Britain has somehow convinced itself that shutting down domestic production faster makes us greener, even when the consequence is greater dependence on imported oil and gas with a higher emissions footprint.
“That is not a credible energy policy and it is increasingly difficult to explain to the businesses and workers whose livelihoods depend on this industry.
“The new Prime Minister has an opportunity to bring the UK back into line with economic and energy reality. Approving Jackdaw and Rosebank would be an important first step, but government must then provide a clear pathway for continued investment in the North Sea rather than managing its premature decline.”
But, pointing to recent wildfires in the Cairngorms, Scottish Greens MSP Mark Ruskell said “climate breakdown” is having a “terrible impact” on communities.
He said: “After seeing how local communities have been impacted, it is absolutely astonishing that Andy Burnham is considering approving Rosebank and Jackdaw while talking to Donald Trump about ‘opening up’ the North Sea.
“Labour promised voters in 2024 that new oil and gas fields would not cut bills or deliver energy security, and would worsen the climate crisis. Those facts do not change just because Labour is now in government, or because they want to appease climate-deniers like Donald Trump.
“Rosebank and Jackdaw would do nothing to protect Scotland’s energy workers either. We know that 85 per cent of the UK’s economically viable North Sea gas has already been extracted, and Robert Gordon University has warned that another 18,000 offshore energy jobs could be lost by 2035.
“We are already seeing this happening, where after more than 60 years, BP recently announced plans to sell its North Sea operations claiming it no longer made financial sense.
“The signs are for all to see, but what is missing is the action needed from the government. Andy Burnham may claim new oil and gas is ‘pragmatic’ but real pragmatism means preparing for the future, not clinging on to declining industries that wreck our climate and give workers a raw deal.”
Robert Palmer, the deputy director of the environmental campaign group Uplift, warned that “scientists could not be clearer that more drilling will wreck our planet and perpetuate this extreme weather”.
Responding to Mr Burnham’s comments on Friday, Mr Palmer said: “As homes burn, the country turns to dust and thousands die in the heatwaves, everyone can see the impact of climate change is hitting right now.
“It is good that the Prime Minister recognises that the root cause of the heatwaves, wildfires and droughts, which are devastating the UK, is climate change.
“He also argues for a pragmatic approach to oil and gas.
“A pragmatic approach would be saying no to new drilling.
“Burning fossil fuels is what feeds climate change.
“More domestic drilling would do nothing to bring down bills or improve our energy resilience.”
Ami McCarthy, head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said: “It is encouraging to hear Andy Burnham face up to the scale of the catastrophe the UK is facing from climate change.”
Friends of the Earth’s head of policy Mike Childs joined calls for Mr Burnham to reject proposals for new oil and gas drilling, and also urged him to block plans for a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.
“With temperatures soaring, crops wilting and wildfires taking hold, it’s good to hear the Prime Minister break his silence on climate change,” Mr Childs said.
“Our emergency services clearly need more resources to better prepare for extreme events.
“But we can’t just treat the symptoms – we must also tackle the root cause.
“Without urgent action to curb the carbon emissions driving this crisis, future heatwaves, droughts and wildfires will only get worse and the ability for future generations to adapt will disappear.
“Andy Burnham must demonstrate that he understands both the causes and effects of the climate emergency by rejecting a third runway at Heathrow and ruling out new oil and gas developments like Rosebank and Jackdaw.”
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