The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Campaigners in Cambo call
Environmental campaigners say the UK Government is misleading the public over its power to stop proposals to develop the Cambo oilfield.
Uplift and Friends of the Earth Scotland have written to business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng saying the UK Government “can and must” take responsibility for the decision on whether or not to develop the oilfield off the west coast of Shetland.
Shell and Siccar Point Energy plan to start oil and gas production in the Cambo oilfield, which is estimated to contain 800 million barrels of oil.
Campaigners against the plans say the emissions it would create would be equivalent to 18 coal-fired power stations for a year.
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has said the regulator the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) is ultimately responsible for Cambo.
However, campaigners say the government is using this to deflect calls for the development to be rejected.
Last month First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging a rethink on the Cambo development because of “the severity of the climate emergency”.
Tessa Khan, lawyer and director of Uplift, said: “The UK Government has repeatedly tried to shirk responsibility for this decision, claiming the process is controlled by the regulator, the Oil and Gas Authority, and that it ‘cannot intervene’, but they are wrong.
“They can and must use the power they already have to stop this new and damaging fossil fuel development.”
She says the Energy Act 2016 allows the secretary of state to give directions to the OGA if it is in the public interest, and says the secretary must give their agreement before the regulatory can approve a project, and be satisfied there will be no significant effect on the environment.
Dr Richard Dixon, director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “The recent code red climate warning makes it clear that we must urgently transition away from fossil fuels if we are to limit further climate breakdown.”
A spokeswoman for BEIS said: “The Cambo oilfield was originally licensed in 2001 and consent for development of the field is a matter for regulators.”
The OGA declined to comment on the matter.