The UK government is considering whether to approve a giant new oil and gas field in the North Sea, despite warnings from energy economists and climate scientists that the world cannot afford to develop any new fossil fuel projects.
The Rosebank oilfield, which could produce up to 500m barrels of oil over its lifetime, has set ministers on a collision course with climate campaigners. Ministers insist that the government will stay within its carbon budgets while securing the UK’s energy supplies and creating jobs and investment. But there are few clean answers to the questions in this debate.
