A win against oil giants: Stop Rosebank's court victory and next steps

We're immensely pleased to feature a guest blog from Jemima Elliott of the Stop Rosebank campaign after their recent court victory. Read on to learn about what's been happening and how you can get involved in the vital work ahead!

WE DID IT!

We have defeated the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the courts.

Rosebank is the largest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea. It holds nearly 500 million barrels of oil, the emissions from which would be more than the lowest 28 income countries combined in a whole year. Jackdaw is another huge fossil fuel project - a gas field owned by Shell. It’s safe to say these projects are deadly to both the climate and human health, but that didn’t stop Conservative governments approving them in 2022 and 2023.

That’s why in November 2024, Uplift and Greenpeace took Rosebank and Jackdaw to court. And we won! The judge in the Scottish High Court declared that the licenses for Rosebank and Jackdaw were granted illegally. This means that those hundreds of millions of barrels of oil will stay below the ocean floor.

And it’s not only a climate win - like all justice work should be, this win is intersectional.

Oil and gas company Ithaca Energy owns 20% in Rosebank, the rest owned by Norwegian-oil giant Equinor. Unlike many of their energy competitors, Ithaca Energy has no investments in renewable energy AT ALL. But that isn’t where their disregard for human life ends.

Ithaca is majority owned by Israeli conglomerate Delek Group, who are on a UN list of companies who have committed illegal activity in the Occupied West Bank. An investigation by The Ferret revealed a multi-million pound contract between another of Delek’s subsidiaries, Delek Israel, and the IDF. This contract (which was renewed in September 2024) provides IDF vehicles to refuel at Delek stations, consequently quite literally fuelling the genocide against Palestinians. That means that if Rosebank went ahead, its profits could go towards a company that is complicit in genocide.

This win against Rosebank in court is not only a win for climate, but also a win in the fight for Palestinian liberation.

Thousands of people from all across the UK and beyond have been campaigning against Rosebank for nearly 3 years. This is one of the biggest wins the climate justice movement has seen in a long time. We should certainly be celebrating, taking some time to rest, and appreciating what people power can achieve.

Defeating Equinor, Ithaca and Shell in court is a HUGE step to ending all new oil and gas in the UK, but the fight isn’t over.

The oil giants are re-applying for these licenses and insist that oil and gas can be extracted ‘sustainably’. We know this is a lie told in the pursuit of profits.

We need to keep up the momentum from our win in the courts to make sure Labour does not re-approve these licenses and to put an end to new oil and gas for good.

That’s why we’re holding our No New Oil & Gas MP & MSP Action Week from 3rd-9th March.

Despite a commitment for no new oil and gas licenses in Labour’s election-winning manifesto, Keir Starmer suggested that he would not block the Rosebank license if it was re-submitted.

Since the general election, we have collectively contacted almost every MP and MSP via email with an ask to support an end to new oil & gas. But emails can only take us so far.

The next critical step is for us all, as constituents, to meet our MPs and MSPs face-to-face to stand up to potentially climate-wrecking decisions by the very top of the UK government.

That may sound super daunting, but we’ve got your back. We’ve got this supporter guide that has all the resources you need to get the process rolling, as well as sign up links to training sessions you can attend from 18th-20th February.

That’s not all you can do. Emails still count, plenty of digital actions you can take, and you can organise with us online or with a group local to you.

Together, we can, and we will, stop Rosebank and all new oil and gas!

Jemima Elliott (she/her) is a journalist and climate justice organiser based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Jemima is University Community Organiser at Remake and campaigns with Stop Rosebank to end oil and gas. Her bylines include Sunday Times Ireland, Shado Mag, and The Breakdown.

Below you'll find a list of books, curated by Jemima, that tie into the Stop Rosebank campaign and have supported the work with it.