Music artists call on PM to veto Rosebank

MUSIC artists have rallied to call on the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to block “actively destructive” fossil fuel extraction in the controversial Rosebank oil field. 

The 500m barrel field north-west of Shetland was green-lighted by the previous Tory government back in 2023, before being overturned earlier this year.

Based on an earlier Supreme Court ruling that emissions created by burning fossil fuels should be considered in licensing new drilling sites, environmental campaigners at Greenpeace and Uplift argued the British government and North Sea Transition Authority had acted unlawfully by granting consent to the projects without taking the effect of downstream emissions into account — a position upheld by the Court of Session in Edinburgh in January.

The ruling prompted ministers to publish new guidance, a move that brought forward fresh applications from companies such as state-owned Norwegian oil giant Equinor to develop a field campaigners estimate could emit more CO2 than the world’s 28 lowest income countries combined in just one year.

As decision-time now approaches, music artists including The Cure’s Robert Smith, Paloma Faith, Brian Eno, Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor, Anna Calvi, Sherelle, Helen Ganya and Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall have signed an open letter co-ordinated by Earth Percent and the Stop Rosebank Campaign demanding Sir Keir reject Rosebank and any new proposals.

Earth Percent co-founder Brian Eno commented: “The continued expansion of oil and gas, such as Rosebank, is a huge threat to that world. 

“Fossil fuels are not only unsustainable – they are actively destructive. 

“The evidence is clear: burning them accelerates the climate crisis, endangers our futures, and undermines the UK’s credibility as a climate leader. 

“The Prime Minister must listen — reject Rosebank, and stop approving new oil and gas developments.”

Stop Rosebank’s Lauren MacDonald added: “It won’t bring down bills, it won’t boost UK energy security, and it won’t create the sustainable future people across this country are calling for. 

“Rosebank must be rejected — and this is the moment for the Prime Minister to show he’s listening.”

A Department for Energy Security & Net Zero spokesperson responded: “Our priority is to deliver a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations, which drives our clean energy future of energy security, lower bills, and good, long-term jobs.”