The UK government has today granted Shell a new permit to extract gas from the Jackdaw field, east of Aberdeen. Greenpeace believes this permit approval could be unlawful, and will consider taking legal action [1].
Ami McCarthy, political campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “Approving Jackdaw is a desperate and destructive decision from Johnson’s government, and proves there’s no long-term plan.
“They could immediately shave billions off bills, get a grip on UK energy demand, create thousands of jobs, boost our economy, tackle the climate crisis and avoid future crises – if they just upgrade homes to be warmer and greener, and invest in clean and cheap renewable power.
“But instead, once again, they’re handing out lucrative permits to the likes of Shell for a project that won’t start producing gas for years, that won’t lower our bills, but will create massive emissions causing deadly flooding and wildfires, and mass migration from people fleeing the climate crisis.
“This government’s shown no regard for these emissions, or Jackdaw’s ultimate climate impact. We think that’s unlawful, we’re looking at legal action to stop Jackdaw, and fight this every step of the way.”
ENDS
Spokespeople are available for interviews, contact press.uk@greenpeace.org
[1] The government has a legal duty to assess the emissions that will come from a new fossil fuel project, including the ‘cumulative impacts’.
Greenpeace argues that this should include the emissions resulting from burning the fossil fuels extracts, and has already challenged another permit, BP’s permit in the Vorlich field, on these grounds. Greenpeace has launched a legal challenge with the UK Supreme Court and is waiting for a procedural hearing to request permission to proceed.
