An activist from the ‘Stop Rosebank’ group confronted Nicola Sturgeon during COP27 on Tuesday.
A video shared on social media shows a campaigner asking the First Minister if she has “any opinions” on Equinor’s (OSLO: EQNR) massive West of Shetland project.
In reply, Ms Sturgeon reinforced her view that “we’ve got to move away from fossil fuels, but we’ve got to do that in a just way”.
But she stops short of saying no to the Rosebank project, despite being pressed by Wiktoria Jedroszkowiak, a 21-year-old climate campaigner from Poland.
Activist confronts @NicolaSturgeon at #COP27 about the Rosebank oil field in the UK which would create as much CO2 as 28 countries in the Global South do annually.
Climate targets mean nothing if politicians aren’t willing to walk the talk.
Step 1: Commit to #StopRosebank. pic.twitter.com/b6W6kE7vWB
— #StopRosebank (@StopCambo) November 8, 2022
The new Cambo
Around the time of the Unite Nations’ COP26 summit in Glasgow last year, Ms Sturgeon called on the UK Government to “reassess” oil and gas licences already issued.
At the time the Cambo field, now owned by Ithaca Energy, was a major political and social battleground.
Ms Sturgeon was subsequently accused by some of abandoning Scotland’s oil and gas industry for not backing the project.
Less than a month later, Shell sent shockwaves through the industry by announcing it would be pulling out of Cambo, and for a while it looked like the project had no future.
But a bounce back in the oil price, as well as Westminster’s focus on energy security, gave the oilfield legs again.
A number of other projects have also been accelerated as a result of the renewed oil and gas drive, including the £8.1 billion Rosebank scheme.
It is estimated to hold 300 million barrels of oil recoverable, with first production targeted for 2026.
The Stop Rosebank campaign group Tweeted: “Activist confronts Nicola Sturgeon at COP27 about the Rosebank oil field in the UK which would create as much CO2 as 28 countries in the Global South do annually.
“Climate targets mean nothing if politicians aren’t willing to walk the talk. Step 1: Commit to Stop Rosebank.”
Energy is currently a reserved matter, meaning the UK Government, rather than the Scottish Government, has the final say on North Sea oil and gas projects.
The COP27 climate conference got underway in Egypt on Sunday.
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