Helen Tandy, Founder Eco Communities
Last week the Government gave the go-ahead for drilling at the Jackdaw gas field, around 150 miles east of Aberdeen. A decision on Rosebank, the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea, is expected soon.
The timing is hard to miss. At this very moment, communities across the UK are gathering in village halls, libraries and churches to watch The People’s Emergency Briefing. The film shares the evidence that leading scientists presented to MPs last November about what the climate and nature crisis means for our food, our health and our cost of living.
I understand why the Government feels under pressure. Conflict in the Middle East has pushed gas prices up, and families and businesses are struggling. But we need to be honest about what Jackdaw can and can’t do.
It won’t bring down your bills. The Energy Secretary has confirmed this herself. North Sea gas is sold at international market prices, so a little more of it doesn’t change what we pay. Jackdaw will provide around 6% of UK North Sea gas production at its peak. Rosebank is mainly oil, and most of it would be exported.
The Government has also announced a £2 billion Energy Wealth Fund, which will put North Sea tax revenue into renewable and low-carbon projects. That is welcome. But it treats clean energy as something to pay for later, when it is actually the answer now.
Every wind turbine, solar panel, heat pump and well-insulated home reduces how often gas sets the price of our electricity. That is how we protect households from the next price shock, wherever in the world it starts.
I’ll admit I was surprised. Andy Burnham ran such a green mayoral term in Greater Manchester. We are living through unprecedented times, with conflict around the world, and I don’t envy anyone making these decisions. But a crisis is exactly when we need to be building the way out, not digging deeper in.
What we can do
• Watch The People’s Emergency Briefing. Find a screening near you, or host one, at nebriefing.org/screening-map
• Write to your MP. Tell them you want investment in homegrown renewables, insulation and community energy, and ask them to oppose Rosebank.
• Back community energy. Locally owned clean power keeps money and control in our communities.
• Keep making the everyday switches. Refill, reuse and repair all reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, from the plastic in our cupboards to the energy behind everything we buy.
Read more about the campaign – click here Stop the Rosebank oil field
Change doesn’t only happen in Westminster. It happens in streets like ours, one choice at a time.
Helen
