CLP Motion on oil and gas:

This CLP notes:

The Government has announced that it has granted approval for the development of the Jackdaw gas field, while it is still considering approval for Rosebank oil and gas field.

• Climate change is here, and its impacts will only become more devastating to the lives and livelihoods of local communities and people. The Labour Government has an opportunity to affect generational change in this Parliament by putting people and the planet first through rejecting Rosebank.
• According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), there were 2,877 excess deaths during May and June heatwaves in the UK this year. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year, from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress alone.
• The Jackdaw gas field is due to reduce our annual gas import dependency by just 2% on average, a miniscule proportion of usage.
• Oil and gas prices are set by the international market, and therefore excavation of Jackdaw and Rosebank will not meaningfully reduce prices for consumers. Meanwhile, Rosebank’s total lifetime emissions are estimated at 254 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, which is equivalent to 70% of the UK’s entire annual emissions in 2025.
• Comparatively, the UK’s growing green economy is worth more than £100bn a year, accounting for over one million jobs, which have- on average- better pay and conditions than those in other sectors. This is thanks to a Labour Government delivering on its clean energy mission but this unprecedented progress must not be undone by support for fossil fuel projects.
• Energy security and affordability is built on home grown energy. The North Sea oil is in decline and cannot provide either, whereas millions of distributed clean energy assets offer a far more secure foundation for the UK’s power, while growing local jobs.

This CLP believes:

• The approval of Jackdaw takes the UK in the wrong direction and makes rejecting Rosebank all the more critical to protect future generations from the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.
• The climate crisis is an issue of justice- the world’s richest 1% cause double the CO2 emissions of the poorest 50%. We will not all bear the brunt of the climate emergency the same- poorer people, especially in the Global South, are most exposed to the negative impacts of flooding, heat stress, water scarcity, and climate induced war and conflict- despite contributing the least to emissions. Poorer and more vulnerable communities in the UK are also far less climate resilient on the whole. Their homes are poorly insulated, more prone to extreme heat, cold and flooding. Poorer households are also much more financially impacted by climate induced energy shocks.
• The Government must side with working people, rather than fossil fuel giants and shareholders, who will overwhelmingly benefit from this decision.
• The Government must be consistent in its clean energy mission and focus on transitioning communities and workers away from oil and gas. This means removing the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels to send a clear message to investors, UK supply chains and the world that it is committed to clean energy.

This CLP resolves:

• To write to [insert local Labour MP here if you have one/ if not, just to Secretary of State], requesting that they urge the Government to reject licenses for the Rosebank oil and gas field.
• To write to Miatta Fahnbulleh, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, urging her to reject licenses for the Rosebank oil and gas field.