In a letter to supporters, renowned economist and patron of Operation Noah, Ann Pettifor, calls for a stop to Rosebank.
The Norwegian oil giant behind the UK’s largest undeveloped oil field – Rosebank – is expected to reapply for permission from the UK government to develop this project any day now.
Rosebank is an environmental disaster waiting to happen – one which will do nothing to lower energy bills or improve UK energy security. The extracted oil from Rosebank will be sold on the international market with most of the oil exported to other countries. And researchers at Uplift estimate that over the course of its lifetime, Rosebank will produce more planet-heating CO2 than the world’s 28 poorest countries – or 700 million people – collectively do in a year.
We must stop new fossil fuel developments if we hope to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. And it’s not just campaigners and scientists who are calling for an end to new fossil fuels: the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty has already been signed by 136 cities and sub-national governments, while in July, the International Court of Justice unanimously ruled that fossil fuel expansion risks violating international law and constitutes an ‘internationally wrongful act’.
Rosebank is economically irresponsible for two reasons: cheaper renewables now generate a rising share of the UK’s electricity (50.4% in 2024), while generation from higher priced fossil fuels fell to a record low of 36.4% in 2024 and will continue to fall.
Second, investors and shareholders in Rosebank are at serious risk if a sudden loss in the value of their investments leads to fossil assets becoming ‘stranded’. This could happen, for example, if a new government changed policy and regulation of the sector; if either a climate catastrophe or competition from renewables collapsed demand for oil; or if legal action against high emitters blocked further exploration.
Together, we can Stop Rosebank – help us do just that by contacting your MP today.
Sincerely,
Ann Pettifor, Operation Noah Patron and Director of Policy Research In Macroeconomics (PRIME)
