Rosebank Can Be Approved Within Climate Targets, Insiders Say
The Rosebank oilfield could be approved without breaching UK emissions targets, government insiders have told the Guardian, because emissions from exported oil do not count against domestic limits. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh had been leaning towards rejection, at odds with cabinet colleagues including the Chancellor. The Treasury has already accounted for billions of pounds in tax revenue from the field.
“Miatta has more latitude than you might think,” one insider said. That makes the decision a matter of political will rather than law. The climate researcher Greg Muttitt, who opposes the field, agrees on the legal point: “the UK government is not going to find itself in any international court if it approves Rosebank.” Campaigners argue that the case against was always about leadership, not direct emissions. The field would produce around seven times the emissions of the Jackdaw gasfield approved last week. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth have written to the Prime Minister urging him to weigh North Sea drilling, Heathrow and heat-pump grants together. Rejection would leave a hole in the Treasury’s sums on Budget day.