Environmentalists are threatening legal action in an attempt to halt the development of a new gas field in the North Sea that has been given the green light by the UK government.
The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said: "Jackdaw gas field - originally licensed in 1970 - has today received final regulatory approval. We're turbocharging renewables and nuclear, but we are also realistic about our energy needs now. Let's source more of the gas we need from British waters to protect energy security."
Climate experts said the decision, announced on the eve of the long bank holiday weekend, flew in the face of clear evidence from scientists that countries had urgently to cut greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis.
"They could immediately shave billions off bills, get a grip on UK energy demand, create thousands of jobs, boost our economy, tackle the climate crisis and avoid future crises - if they just upgrade homes to be warmer and greener, and invest in clean and cheap renewable power. But instead, once again, they're handing out lucrative permits to the likes of Shell for a project that won't start producing gas for years, that won't lower our bills, but will create massive emissions, causing deadly flooding and wildfires."
One Jackdaw campaigner, Lauren MacDonald, said: "This government has no idea how to solve the energy crisis. It's still looking to oil and gas for the answer when that is precisely what is driving the cost of living and climate crises."
Jackdaw is just the latest major UK fossil fuel project to have been approved since the UK hosted the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow last year - to the dismay of climate scientists and campaigners.
Earlier this month a Guardian investigation found the world's biggest fossil fuel firms were quietly planning 195 "Carbon bombs" - huge oil and gas projects that would drive the climate past internationally agreed temperature limits with catastrophic global impacts.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/02/jackdaw-uk-new-gas-field-shell-north-sea-climate
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