Labour faced another rally outside parliament – but this time, not quite what they’d expected

The new Labour government has, for many people, made some good decisions already relating to the climate crisis. However, behind the headlines the party still isn’t going far enough. So, a group of children (and the mothers) from campaign group Mothers Rise Up gave the Labour Party a lesson in what it needs to do to protect all our futures – not least about the controversial Rosebank project.

Mothers Rise Up: back to school – but a stop at parliament first

Mothers Rise Up held a lively school-themed ‘Back to School, Back to Parliament’ rally on Monday, 2 September, outside of parliament in Westminste. It coincided with both schools and the UK parliament returning for a brand new term.

The action, including life-sized school kit props created by artist and prop maker Chryso Chellun, highlighted the urgent need for progress to take decisive action to address the climate crisis:

Whilst acknowledging the new Labour government has already lifted the ban on onshore wind and committed to creating Great British Energy, campaigners argued there is much work left to do. This included reassessing the permissions for the undeveloped Rosebank North Sea fossil fuel project.

This is strengthened by the UK government deciding not to contest the legal challenge against the decision to approve drilling in untapped oil fields off Shetland and Aberdeen. Greenpeace and Uplift have jointly filed judicial reviews to halt the development of the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields.

Fossil fuels are the main driver of the accelerating climate crisis. Rosebank is the largest untapped oil and gas field in the North Sea set to go ahead, located around 80 miles off the Shetland coast, with 90% oil-rich reserves.

Burning Rosebank’s oil and gas reserves would generate more CO2 than the combined emissions of all 28 low-income countries worldwide, including Uganda, Ethiopia and Mozambique.

Rosebank: the thin end of the climate crisis wedge

While the new government may have dropped the legal case against Rosebank, as the Canary previously reported the project isn’t dead in the water as yet. The companies involved could still defend the ruling. Plus, they could also still proceed with the developments – just with new environmental statements that include Scope 3 emissions.

Lorna Powell from Mothers Rise Up said:

Rosebank must stay untapped. Producing more oil and gas won’t lower bills or increase energy security; it will only boost profits for the world’s most polluting companies. The green energy transition needs to be ambitious, fast and fair for communities across the UK.

Children across the UK and globally are already suffering as a result of increased flooding, extreme heat and air pollution. The coming months and years will define the future of our planet. Mothers Rise Up will be pushing our government and corporations to take bold, ambitious action for our climate, delivered before it’s too late.

Featured image and additional images via Mothers Rise Up