On Tuesday, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) pleaded with governments to up the pace in reducing the world’s dependence on oil and gas. A “strong signal to energy markets” was needed, said Fatih Birol – one which indicated that governments are taking the climate seriously. Wealthy countries, he added, having disproportionately contributed to historical carbon emissions, bear a special responsibility as the climate begins to change at “frightening speed”.
On Wednesday Britain certainly sent out a signal. But it was hardly the one the IEA would have hoped for. Instead, the green light was given for the exploitation of the United Kingdom’s largest untapped oilfield. The Rosebank project in the North Sea has the potential to deliver 500m barrels of oil, which, when burned, would emit the same amount of carbon dioxide as the running of 56 coal-fired power stations for a year. Tax incentives offered to the Norwegian energy company Equinor will effectively subsidise a development certain to undermine the country’s credibility in future climate negotiations.
