Senior Labour figures are warning of a serious fight if Keir Starmer tries to give the go-ahead to a giant new oilfield off Shetland later this year.
MPs and ministers have told the Guardian they are prepared to oppose the UK prime minister should he try and give final consent to the Rosebank development, which is Britain’s biggest untapped oilfield.
Many in the party see the battle over Rosebank as the next front in the struggle between its environmental wing and those around Rachel Reeves who want to push for economic growth above all else. It comes after the chancellor signalled her support for a third runway at Heathrow this week as part of the government’s latest push to stimulate the economy.
One ally of Ed Miliband said that any attempt to give consent to Rosebank would be met with a “punchy” response from the energy secretary, who is leading the government’s climate agenda. The ally said: “Ed will come to that fight armed with a lot of evidence about what Rosebank will do to our carbon emissions.”
A spokesperson for Miliband declined to comment.
A Labour backbencher said: “[A decision around Rosebank] will be a moment to speak out. There are a lot of us, on every wing of the party, who would go absolutely nuts if that happened.”
The Rosebank development lost a significant court case this week when a judge in Scotland ruled the decision by the previous government to give it the green light had been unlawful. The judge ruled that ministers should not have given it consent without knowing how much carbon dioxide would be generated by burning the oil the field will produce over its lifetime.
Equinor, the Norwegian energy company that is leading the Rosebank project, is expected to carry out that more detailed assessment and come back with a renewed consent application later this year. An Equinor spokesperson said after the ruling they would continue to work with the government on securing consent, adding: “Rosebank is critical for the UK’s economic growth.”
But while the decision is technically up to the independent North Sea Transition Authority, government officials say it is likely to be so sensitive that the prime minister himself will have to weigh in.
Labour came into government last year promising not to issue any new licences for oil and gas fields in the North Sea. Rosebank, however, already has its licence and can continue developing the field until it gets environmental consent to start pumping oil out of the ground.
A source close to Starmer said the prime minister had not ruled out giving the go-ahead for the field but would want to see the application first.
Many, however, think it has been made more likely by the government’s renewed push for growth, after Reeves signalled her approval for another runway at Heathrow as well as further liberalisation of the planning regime.
Asked last week about the clash between her economic agenda and the government’s environmental targets, Reeves said: “Growth is the number-one mission of this government, because growth underpins everything else, whether that is improving our schools and our hospitals, or indeed being able to get to net zero.”
One oil and gas lobbyist said: “Three months ago I would have been less confident that the government would give consent. But Trump and Labour’s post-Christmas growth zeal makes it significantly more likely.” Equinor said the project would generate jobs for 4,000 people.
Reeves’s apparent downgrading of the government’s climate mission is already causing unease in Labour circles. Backbencher Clive Lewis wrote in the Guardian on Friday: “A growing suspicion looms that our government lacks a coherent governing philosophy or ideological compass beyond the vague pursuit of ‘growth’. But if growth at any cost is the mantra, the costs will soon become painfully clear.”
after newsletter promotion
Miliband is understood to have advised cabinet this week that any plan to expand Heathrow would probably violate the country’s carbon emissions targets, although the energy secretary has said he will not resign over the issue.
Many Labour backbenchers say they have been willing to swallow their concerns about Heathrow on the basis that the project is unlikely to go ahead. But some say they are looking out for any further sign of the government walking away from its green agenda.
One Labour MP told the Guardian: “We are proud that we’re the most green government the country has ever had. That’s important, and not something you’d want to lose.”
Another said: “Once Justin Trudeau is out [as Canadian prime minister], Keir will essentially be the world leader who is the most prominently committed to climate. I think we should not shy away from taking on that mantle.”
Miliband is preparing to publish the results of a recent consultation with the energy industry and the public more generally about how the government should account for the emissions from oil and gas produced in the UK.
Government officials say the outcome of that consultation will be vital in deciding whether or not they can give consent to a new oilfield while also remaining within Labour’s CO2 reduction commitments.
Campaigners argue that the project is unlikely to produce the growth promised by its backers.
Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said: “Renewables are the key growth sector of the UK, both in terms of investment and jobs, and where our global advantage lies.
“But that sector is now in competition with the oil and gas industry for workers, supply chains, port space and other resources, not to mention the disastrous signals doubling down on oil and gas sends to clean energy investors.”
Source: theguardian.com
