AFTER occupying the offices of the Labour party on 1 May, Christians have now pledged to hold a protest at Labour HQ every Wednesday until the election. The group are urging the Labour Party to call a moratorium on the Rosebank Oil Field development, should it form the next government.
The Rosebank oil field was approved by the UK government in September 2023. It has the capacity to generate 200 million tonnes of additional CO2 emissions, at a time when the International Energy Agency (IEA) says that there can be no further expansion of fossil fuel production if the world is to limit average global heating to 1.5C.
In 2023, Labour confirmed they would allow drilling to continue at any oil and gas projects approved by the current UK Government, thereby indicating they plan to permit Rosebank to continue. This is despite the fact that Rosebank will cost the UK taxpayer an estimated £3.7 billion in tax breaks for the private companies leading the development.
Barbara Wilson from Brixton took part in the action this week. She says: “I’ve decided to take part because I really care about our young people. I can’t imagine what kind of a world we’ll be leaving them if we go ahead with oil and gas fields like Rosebank. Renewables have been shown to be cheaper than fossil fuels. It’s important that Labour do the economic and moral thing”.
Mark Francis, from Horsham, also took part in the action. He says:“If Labour comes into power, it will be a time of change for our country. With that, we need to embrace the progress of new renewable technologies that are safer, fairer and cheaper. Fossil fuels are dirty, dinosaur fuels that we’re only continuing to use as a country because of those with an economic interest to force us to keep using them”.
* Source: Christian Climate Action