Burnham vows UK will stay on net zero path despite Jackdaw gasfield approval
The UK prime minister said his commitment to tackling the climate crisis was unwavering, while the energy secretary said she alone would decide on the Rosebank oilfield.
At a glance
- Andy Burnham pledged to block new North Sea oil and gas licences and keep the UK on track for net zero by 2050.
- The government has approved the Jackdaw gasfield; gas from it will heat homes and power businesses this winter.
- Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said she alone will decide whether to approve the Rosebank oilfield.
Andy Burnham has pledged to keep the UK on track for net zero by 2050 and to block new North Sea oil and gas licences, after his government approved the Jackdaw gasfield.
In an article for the Guardian, the prime minister said his determination to tackle the climate crisis was "unwavering" and that he would not "abandon the responsibility" Britain has to future generations.
"There has been much speculation about what this announcement means for Britain's commitment to addressing the climate crisis. I want to be clear that our determination is unwavering," he wrote.
Burnham said he was conscious of the "acute global instability" affecting energy security and wanted oil and gas workers to be treated with more dignity. Gas from Jackdaw would begin heating homes and powering businesses this winter, he said, arguing it made sense to use homegrown rather than imported resources responsibly. He said he had been moved by the plight of oil and gas workers in Aberdeen, an industry he said had suffered from deindustrialisation "with too little thought given by politicians to the places left behind".
Rosebank decision looms
Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said she alone would decide whether to approve the Rosebank oilfield, a decision sources say she is minded to block. The chancellor, John Healey, has said he expects oil and gas revenues to contribute to a new energy wealth fund, setting up a potential standoff with the Treasury.
Dismissing speculation that Burnham or the chancellor would make the final call, Fahnbulleh said the decision "sits heavy" for such a big and controversial matter because "in the end, only I can make it", adding that her legal responsibility was to ensure the UK did not violate its climate commitments.
She said she was "really concerned" and "quite sad" about the breakdown in cross-party consensus on climate action, naming Reform and the Conservatives. She said the private sector had invested £100bn in clean energy in the past two years, but added: "When you say jobs are going to be created, don't say it. People need to see it."
Wildfire response
Burnham also announced that military aircraft and helicopters would fight wildfires in the UK for the first time. RAF Chinook helicopters and A400M aircraft will help crews tackle blazes on remote moorland and steep hillsides, ahead of a wildfire summit with fire chiefs, local leaders and experts. "Heroes shouldn't have to fight with one hand tied behind their backs," he said.
Source: The Guardian.
Questions and answers
- Will the UK still meet its net zero target?
- Andy Burnham said his determination was "unwavering" and pledged to keep Britain on track for net zero by 2050 while blocking new North Sea licences, despite the Jackdaw gasfield approval.
- Who will decide whether the Rosebank oilfield is approved?
- Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said only she can make the decision and that she bears the legal responsibility for keeping the UK within its climate commitments. Sources say she is minded to block it.
- Why did the government approve the Jackdaw gasfield?
- Burnham cited acute global instability and energy security, saying gas from the field will begin heating homes and powering businesses this winter, and that using homegrown gas responsibly makes sense.
