The Green Party has criticised the Labour Party’s announcement that it will not rule out the new Rosebank oil field if it is given the go ahead before the next election. [1]
Ahead of a speech by Keir Starmer in Edinburgh today, the Greens have urged the Labour leader to do another u-turn and announce he will oppose any new oil fields that get the green light between now and the election, in order to make any investments non-viable and avoid the dangerous impact on the climate.
Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:
“It is simply unforgivable that a Labour Party looking to build its green credentials is effectively giving its backing to the biggest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea, when it knows full well that we are in the middle of a climate emergency.
“The Green Party is clear we would not support the new Rosebank oil field. If Labour had the courage to take the same approach if it comes into government, it could make the investment completely non-viable and the dangerous climate impact would be avoided.
“Instead, Starmer’s promises of clean power by 2030 sound completely hollow when he accepts that oil and gas will be part of the mix 'for decades to come'.
“By rowing back on their £28bn climate pledge and now signalling it will allow new oil fields approved by the Conservatives to go ahead, it is becoming increasingly clear that Labour are simply not offering the sort of climate leadership the urgency of the climate crisis demands.
“Compared to the Green Party’s policies, Labour are going nowhere near far enough.
“The Green Party has pledged to invest almost £100bn each year for ten years to decarbonise our economy, including £25bn alone on insulating people’s homes, £12bn on increasing our renewable capacity and £14bn on rail and walking and cycling.
“By investing in the green economy we can tackle the cost of living crisis and the climate emergency at the same time, creating a fairer, greener country which will leave no one behind.
“Whatever happens at the next election, it is vital we have a group of Green MPs fighting for the environment and those who have been ignored for too long by the main two parties.”
ENDS
Notes
1
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65945214
For more information or to arrange an interview contact the press office on press@greenparty.org.uk or call 0203 691 9401