Key events
“The greatest act of environmental vandalism in my lifetime” is how Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Green party and MP for Brighton Pavilion, described the government’s decision to approve the Rosebank oilfield. She tweeted:
BREAKING – #Rosebank oilfield just given go-ahead – the greatest act of environmental vandalism in my lifetime, causing emissions equal to 28 lowest income countries, busting #climate targets & doing nothing for energy security since vast majority is for export #climatecriminals
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) September 27, 2023
Tessa Khan, a climate lawyer and executive director of Uplift, which helped coordinate the Stop Rosebank campaign, said:
Rosebank will do nothing to lower fuel bills or boost UK energy security. Most of this oil will be shipped abroad and then sold back to us at whatever price makes the oil and gas industry the most profit.
People in the UK overwhelmingly support moving to cheaper, cleaner renewable energy. This government should be prioritising making sure no pensioner, or family with small children is living in a cold, damp home this winter, not handing billions in tax breaks to obscenely wealthy foreign companies.
Rosebank is a rip off. It’s another case of the government allowing foreign companies to profit, while the costs are put on British people who worry about the world we are handing on to our children.
There are strong grounds to believe that the way this government has come to this decision is unlawful and we will see them in court if so. We shouldn’t have to fight this government for cheap, clean energy and a liveable climate, but we will.
Introduction: Britain gives go-ahead for Equinor to develop Rosebank oil field; oil prices climb
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
Rosebank, one of the largest untapped oilfields in UK waters, has been approved by the UK government.
Britain has given the go-ahead for Oslo-listed energy company Equinor to develop the oil and gas field in the North Sea, northwest of Shetland.
Equinor holds a majority stake in Rosebank and will develop it with its British partner Ithaca Energy. The field is expected to produce at least 300m barrels of oil and is three times bigger than the controversial Cambo field that was put on hold more than a year ago.
A spokesman for the North Sea Transition Authority said:
We have today approved the Rosebank Field Development Plan (FDP) which allows the owners to proceed with their project.
The FDP is awarded in accordance with our published guidance and taking net zero considerations into account throughout the project’s lifecycle.
Rosebank is one of the most controversial energy projects, with hundreds of climate scientists and academics and more than 200 organisations from the Women’s Institute to Oxfam joining tens of thousands of people across the UK in opposition. Environmentalists argue that it contravenes Britain’s plan for a net zero economy.
Philip Evans, Greenpeace UK’s climate campaigner, said:
Rishi Sunak has proven once and for all that he puts the profits of oil companies above everyday people. We know that relying on fossil fuels is terrible for our energy security, the cost of living, and the climate. Our sky-high bills and recent extreme weather have shown us that.
The ugly truth is that Sunak is pandering to vested interests, demonstrating the stranglehold the fossil fuel lobby has on government decision making. And it’s bill payers and the climate that will suffer because of it. Why else would he make such a reckless decision?
This decision is nothing but carte blanche to fossil fuel companies to ruin the climate, punish bill payers, and siphon off obscene profits. We already have the solutions to cut bills, increase energy security and cut emissions, but the government ignores them in favour of handouts to corporations at the expense of the rest of us.
The news came as oil prices climbed by $1 a barrel, as markets worry about tight supplies heading into the winter and higher interest rates.
The oil producers’ cartel Opec, led by Saudi Arabia, and allies such as Russia have cut production and forecast supply shortfalls.
Brent crude rose more than 1% to $94.98 a barrel while US light crude is up 1.1% at $91.4 a barrel.
There are also concerns that higher interest rates could slow economic growth and reduce demand for oil. The US Federal Reserve has signalled that borrowing costs may need to be stay higher for longer than expected.
Separately, Hui Ka Yan, the billionaire chairman of the stricken property developer Evergrande, has been placed under police control, Bloomberg reported.
Hui was taken away by Chinese police earlier this month and is being monitored at a designated location.
It’s not clear why Hui is under so-called residential surveillance, a type of police action that falls short of formal detention or arrest and doesn’t mean Hui will be charged with a crime, Bloomberg said. This means he is unable to leave the location, meet or communicate with others without approval. Passports and identification cards must be handed to police but no longer than six months, according to the law.
Evergrande, the world’s most indebted property developer, is at the centre of a crisis in China’s property sector. A wave of defaults in the property sector has dragged down growth in China’s economy.
The Agenda
