Jackdaw decision could haunt the UK at future climate summits |
Though the announcement that the UK government will move ahead with the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea was anticipated, it has generated a wave of criticism from around the world. This will have significant implications for the UK’s international standing on climate change.
The UK’s debate over new drilling has focused on job creation, energy security, emissions and the UK’s climate commitments, and the claim that the gas field was already licensed by the previous government.
Researchers and advocacy groups have poured cold water on these justifications, questioning the scale of the economic benefits of a project that will meet just 2% of UK gas demand for ten years – and that’s if none is exported.
The original consent for Jackdaw was quashed in 2025 for failing to account for its total emissions footprint – including those generated when the gas is actually burned. The field is owned by Adura, a joint venture between Shell and Norwegian energy giant Equinor. The developers had to submit a fresh environmental assessment, and the government had to decide again whether to approve the project in light of the full emissions assessment. That means this is not an inherited decision: the government must own it outright.
Moving in the wrong direction
As more countries commit to phasing out fossil fuels and publish plans to do so, the UK government has moved in the opposite direction. By approving........