BP North Sea Oil development ‘reckless’ for climate

Responding to the approval of the BP North Sea Vorlich development by the Oil and Gas Authority, Friends of the Earth Scotland Director Dr Richard Dixon commented,

“This approval of this new North Sea development by BP is a reckless decision that is incompatible with efforts to tackle climate change. This oil needs to stay under the seabed.

“The world cannot afford to burn even a fraction of the fossil fuels we already have, never mind approving the extraction of millions more barrels of oil.

“The strategy adopted by UK and Scottish Government’s of ‘maximising economic recovery’ from the North Sea means maximising climate destruction.

“The Scottish and UK Government need to work together to end further oil and gas exploration in the North Sea. They should be planning for a rapid and orderly transition away from fossil fuels in a way that is fair to the workers and communities currently dependent on these industries.”

“This summer of extreme weather has shown we are long past the time for business as usual, fossil fuel firms should not be searching for and exploiting new reserves. This development also punctures the greenwashing of BP that they are moving beyond petroleum or are honest players in the fight against climate change.”