Reject Rosebank oil field, Quakers urge UK government
Quakers in Britain has joined a broad coalition in urging the UK government to reject the controversial Rosebank oil field, as Keir Starmer arrives at COP30 for the World Leaders Summit.
The appeal comes in the form of a joint open letter, coordinated by Uplift and submitted as an official response to the UK government's consultation on Rosebank, which closes on 7 November 2025.
The letter, signed by over 240 faith and environmental organisations including Quakers in Scotland, describes the project as “a defining test of this government's credibility on climate change."
[QUOTE-START]
This is economic lunacy
- signatories
[QUOTE-END]
Rosebank, located in the North Sea, could produce more carbon dioxide than the annual emissions of the 700 million people living in the world's poorest countries.
But signatories including Amnesty International and the RSPB stress that drilling in the oil field would do little to reduce UK energy bills or dependence on imports.
According to the letter, its modest gas reserves could cut import dependency by just one per cent per year under the most favourable conditions, and most of the oil is expected for export.
Economically, the project could result in a net tax loss of over £250 million to the UK Treasury, thanks to tax breaks for new drilling in the UK.
“This is economic lunacy," the letter says, “when the field's owners Equinor and Ithaca would earn an estimated £1.5 billion in profit, most of which would go to the Norwegian state, Equinor's majority owners."
The oil field has been under discussion for over a decade, with plans repeatedly delayed due to environmental and economic concerns.
The latest consultation follows renewed interest from Norwegian state energy company Equinor and Ithaca Energy, the project partners, in developing the field.
The letter warns that approving Rosebank could undermine investor confidence in renewable energy and lock the UK into more high-carbon infrastructure.
Michael Hutchinson, clerk of Quakers in Scotland, said: “Quakers believe the earth was gifted to its inhabitants. We must tend to it with love, care and respect.
“We call on the UK government to demonstrate leadership ahead of COP30 by rejecting this oil field once and for all."