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News - 7 September 2025

Fossil fuel protests in Starmer’s back yard over new oil field

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Willem Moore

@willem_moore


On Saturday 6 September, activists protested against Rosebank, the UK’s largest untapped oil field. Describing it as “toxic”, Fossil Free London (FFL) have warned that even ignoring the climate concerns, drilling Rosebank would be financially detrimental to UK citizens. They’ve also highlighted the links between the fossil fuel-hungry Norwegian company set to profit from Rosebank and an “Israeli fuel conglomerate”.

UK-wide protests over fossil fuels

Fossil Free London drew attention to the protest in the London Borough of Camden, which is where you find Starmer’s constituency of Holborn and St Pancras. The group said in a press release:

The action in Camden saw over a hundred activists gather outside council buildings in Sir Keir Starmer’s constituency with a giant melting planet earth ice-cream, as part of a coordinated effort across the country to send a clear message to the Prime Minister: pull the plug on the toxic Rosebank field for good.

In collaboration with groups like Mothers Rise Up, Stop Rosebank, and Christian Climate Action, protests actually took place across Britain:

FFL highlighted that:

Rosebank, owned primarily by Norwegian state oil giant Equinor, would produce more CO2 than the annual emissions of the world’s 28 lowest-income countries combined.

The vast majority of its oil will be sold on the international market for export, doing nothing to lower energy bills or increase energy security here in the UK, with the taxpayer set to pick up the bill for most of its development costs. In fact, the vast majority of Rosebank’s profits will flow towards Norway’s immensely wealthy oil fund.

Worse, the potential mega-polluter could send over £250 million towards Delek Group – an Israeli fuel conglomerate that has been flagged by the UN for human rights violations in Palestine. Equinor is currently under investigation by the Norwegian Consumer Authority for failing to conduct proper due diligence over these links.

The Canary reported that a court overturned the 2023 approval of Rosebank, deeming it unlawful. The UK Government will now “decide to re-approve or reject the field”. The piece added:

The UK public is predicted to cover over 80% of the costs of developing Rosebank, due to generous tax reliefs that allow oil and gas companies to write off most of their development costs before profits are taxed. Norwegian state-owned oil company, Equinor – which owns the majority stake in Rosebank – is expected to profit up to £1.5 billion, along with its partner, Ithaca.

Despite some tax income from profits of Rosebank – most of which would come after 2030 – the UK Government is expected to incur a net loss of over £250 million.

The Norwegian government has a sovereign wealth fund that is largely funded by state-owned companies like Equinor, currently worth over $1.3 trillion that is reinvested towards the country’s public environmental, social and governance issues.

Speaking on the latest fossil fuel protests, Lorna Power (co-director, Mothers Rise Up) said:

After a summer of record breaking heat and escalating extreme weather events across Europe, it is clear that the climate crisis has arrived at our door. The only way to protect our planet, our health and our communities is to stop burning fossil fuels and rapidly roll out clean energy infrastructure.

The UK government is about to decide whether to allow drilling at Rosebank, Britain’s largest undeveloped oil field. More North Sea oil and gas will do nothing to lower our bills or improve our energy security. Approving new fossil fuel projects like Rosebank in the context of an escalating, deadly climate crisis is simply unjustifiable.

Featured image via Angela Christofilou





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