Andy Burnham faces climate revolt after approval of North Sea gas drilling

The government has decided not to block Jackdaw’s environmental approval. That allows the North Sea Transition Authority, or NSTA, to authorize the project after considering financial and logistical issues. Ministers will argue that approval does not breach Labour’s promise because Jackdaw is not receiving a new licence.

The decision matters because Jackdaw is one of the biggest undeveloped gasfields in the declining North Sea basin. Shell and Equinor operate it. The field could supply about 2% of UK gas demand for roughly 10 years and 6% of North Sea gas production when fully operational.

Climate campaigners say new oil and gasfields are incompatible with safe climate limits. The decision may also unsettle Labour MPs, especially where they face Green party challenges. It could strengthen Labour in north-east Scotland, where unions support the permits, while putting the party’s climate credibility under pressure.

Jackdaw is a major natural-gas development that has not yet entered production. It is located in the North Sea, a basin where reserves are declining and platforms are becoming increasingly automated. Shell and the Norwegian company Equinor operate the field.

Its importance comes from its size and political symbolism. When fully operational, Jackdaw is expected to account for 6% of North Sea gas production. That makes it one of the largest gasfields in the region still awaiting production.

The field has become part of a wider argument about Britain’s energy future. Supporters point to domestic resources and energy-market volatility. Opponents say the development would extend fossil-fuel use without preventing the wider decline in North Sea jobs. The article does not give Jackdaw’s precise offshore coordinates or distance from land.

Jackdaw’s expected contribution is significant within the North Sea, but limited across Britain’s whole gas market. The field could meet around 2% of UK gas demand for roughly 10 years. Supporters therefore present it as a domestic resource that could contribute during energy-market uncertainty.

Its regional impact would be larger. When fully operational, Jackdaw is expected to account for 6% of North Sea gas production. That would make it one of the biggest gasfields not yet producing in the declining basin.

The figures also explain the controversy. Tessa Khan of Uplift says the field has been oversold and would not stop the overall decline in North Sea jobs. The project is expected to be largely unmanned and remotely operated, so its production scale may not translate into many long-term jobs.

The court intervened because regulators had assessed the fields’ environmental approvals incorrectly. When deciding whether Jackdaw and Rosebank complied with the UK’s climate commitments, regulators had counted emissions linked to production but not the carbon released when customers eventually burned the oil and gas.

The ruling changed the approval process. A judge said regulators should include those future combustion emissions in their assessment. Shell and Equinor therefore resubmitted their application for environmental consent in September, beginning more than a year of further deliberation.

This matters because the gas is not climate-neutral once produced. Burning it creates emissions beyond the offshore operation itself. Ministers must now consider the project’s full expected climate impact, while also deciding whether approving Jackdaw conflicts with Labour’s manifesto pledge and wider climate commitments.

Labour faces a political trade-off. Approving Jackdaw could strengthen its position in north-east Scotland, where the industry is concentrated and unions have campaigned for permits. It could also reassure workers and companies during a period of heavy job losses in the oil and gas sector.

The opposing mechanism is electoral and reputational. Climate groups say new drilling undermines Labour’s green credentials. A Savanta poll found nearly one-third of voters would be less likely to vote Labour if more North Sea drilling went ahead. That included about one-third of previous Labour voters and around half of 18- to 24-year-olds.

Jackdaw may bring limited employment benefits. Uplift says it will be largely unmanned and remotely operated, so it will not stop the overall decline in North Sea jobs. Labour MPs facing Green party challenges may therefore face particular pressure.

The clearest alternatives named in the article are heat pumps and solar power. Ellie Mae O’Hagan of E3G argues that the government should invest in these technologies rather than provide tax breaks to oil and gas companies. They are presented as ways to address energy needs without developing another North Sea fossil-fuel field.

The suggested mechanism is investment in cleaner energy systems. Heat pumps can provide building heat, while solar can generate electricity. The article does not quantify how much energy either could supply or describe a complete replacement plan for North Sea gas.

The government is also examining a possible funding link for Rosebank. Officials are considering whether tax proceeds from that project could be directed to green projects if approval is granted. A Rosebank decision is expected later this year, but the article gives no comparable funding proposal for Jackdaw.

Fossil gas contains carbon-based hydrocarbons. When gas is burned for energy, the carbon combines with oxygen and forms carbon dioxide. The resulting gas enters the atmosphere and contributes to the greenhouse effect, which raises global temperatures. This basic mechanism explains why gas use matters beyond the field’s offshore operations.

The Jackdaw court ruling applied that principle to project approval. Regulators had not included the emissions created when the field’s oil and gas were eventually burned. A judge ruled those emissions should be counted when assessing whether the projects complied with the UK’s climate commitments.

That requirement makes the project’s climate impact broader than drilling, processing, and transport. The government must consider the emissions from the fuel’s eventual use as well as production. The article does not specify the UK’s emissions target or calculate Jackdaw’s total carbon dioxide output.