OnTheWight always welcomes a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below.
This from Maggie Nelmes, Ventnor. Ed
The Government has recently opened a public consultation on a Norwegian oil and gas company’s reapplication to develop an enormous new oil field called Rosebank, eighty miles north of Shetland.
The oil giant Equinor has submitted a new application for Rosebank, even though last January the Scottish courts ruled its development unlawful. Emissions from the burning of the oil extracted from it – roughly 250 million tonnes of carbon dioxide during the lifetime of the project – would undermine the UK’s legal commitments to reduce carbon levels to a safe limit to prevent catastrophic climate change.
No benefit to UK households
Incredibly, the deal that Equinor brokered with the last Conservative government was for UK taxpayers to bear almost all the costs of developing Rosebank, handing the company £ billions in tax breaks and enabling it to make record-breaking profits. Yet UK households would see no benefits in the form of reduced energy bills or increased job opportunities.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, I understand that the majority shareholder in Equinor’s parent company Ithaca, the Delek Group, facilitates and profits from the construction and growth of illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine’s West Bank.
Next to a marine protected area
I am also shocked to learn that Rosebank is right next to a marine protected area. Its development would likely harm dolphins, whales and fish. They rely on sound to communicate with each other, find food and navigate.
Very intense and sharp sounds caused by drilling, seismic blasting and construction could damage their hearing, seriously disorient them, and cause death through starvation or beaching.
Fish may leave their feeding grounds, adversely affecting the fishing industry.
Catastrophic consequences of a major oil spill
Furthermore, a major oil spill could have catastrophic consequences for wildlife in the North Sea. Rosebank’s pipeline would cross a specially protected seabed, threatening its precious coral gardens, deep-sea sponges and clams.
I call upon the Government NOT to waste taxpayers’ money on unlawful and harmful oil projects that could be redundant before they are constructed, but instead commit to enabling the UK to become a world leader in renewable energy, creating many more job opportunities and boosting our economy.
Respond to the consultation
More information about the consultation, which runs until 20th November, can be found on the Gov website.
Submissions can include support, concerns or recommendations regarding environmental and climate impacts.
Comments can be made via the Action Network website or by email to the Business Support Team, the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, Aberdeen by email: [email protected] quoting Reference Number ES/2022/001
