Climate activists protest against Rosebank oil field in London

Climate campaigners staged a demonstration outside the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in London on Tuesday, calling on the government to halt development of the controversial Rosebank oil and gas field in the North Sea. Organized by activists from groups including Fossil Free London, the protest called on the UK government to reject new oil and gas licenses and accelerate the transition to renewable energy. A public consultation on the Rosebank project concluded in August 2026, following a landmark legal challenge that found the previous approval of the development unlawful. The Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled that the previous Conservative government had failed to fully consider the project’s downstream emissions when approving the development. Rosebank, estimated to contain more than 480 million barrels of oil, is the UK’s largest undeveloped oil and gas field. The project is primarily owned by Norwegian state-backed energy company Equinor and Ithaca Energy through a joint venture. Opponents, including the #StopRosebank campaign, argue that developing the field would prolong the UK’s dependence on fossil fuels and undermine international climate targets. Supporters of the project, meanwhile, have argued that domestic oil and gas production is necessary to safeguard the country’s energy security during the transition to cleaner energy sources. The UK government is considering whether to approve the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas projects, which were initially approved by the previous Conservative administration. Although Labour pledged to ban new drilling in the North Sea in its 2024 election manifesto, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed to take a “pragmatic” approach to decisions on new developments.