There is no money, future, or sense in Rosebank. Renewables will guarantee Scottish energy security, not this oil field. The UK’s largest undeveloped oil and gas field remains exactly that: undeveloped.

A decision on whether to approve Rosebank, which lies 80 miles west of Shetland, had been due “imminently”. It now likely won’t come until the autumn, with the regulator reportedly concerned about its compatibility with the UK’s climate obligations. This pause for thought is welcome. Not just to allow for a clear-eyed assessment of the field, but also to consider who should have the final say.

If approved, Rosebank could see 500 million barrels of oil extracted from the North Sea, the majority of which will be put in tankers and exported overseas. So, forget about boosting UK energy security with this project.

The climate implications of allowing it to proceed are, though, immense. Experts – from the UK Government’s own climate advisors to the International Energy Agency and the head of the United Nations – could not be clearer. There is just no room for new oil and gas fields or coal mines to be developed if we are to have a hope of staying inside 1.5C of warming. Not here, or anywhere.

Rosebank’s development could also see the UK’s oil and gas sector breach the emissions limits agreed by the industry and government in the North Sea Transition Deal, which was designed to keep the sector in line with the UK’s wider net-zero commitments. Campaign group Uplift has stated that it has strong grounds to believe that an approval would be unlawful.

The entire idea of yet more deep-sea drilling is yesterday’s policy for yesterday’s problems. It is common sense to most people that you do not reduce reliance on oil and gas by drilling for more of it. We need to recognise that the challenges we face today are different. Not just the climate crisis, but also the millions of households now struggling with unaffordable energy bills driven by soaring gas prices. Today’s problems require an urgent change of course.

At the centre of this challenge are Scottish workers, caught between a fossil fuel industry in inevitable decline and a renewable future that is there for the taking. We have a duty to look after these workers and their communities and create for them jobs that will last into the future. Jobs which won’t damage the environment that their children will inherit. That future does not lie in North Sea oil and gas.

There can be no new oil and gas fields or coal mines if there is to be hope of staying inside 1.5C of warming (Picture: Andy Buchanan/WPA pool/Getty Images)

Given the consequences to Scotland, burying our heads in the sand is not an option. We must look to the future. Scotland’s Just Transition Commission is a good start. But while Westminster still controls the pace of this transition, locking us into more oil and gas infrastructure, hoping to eke out every last barrel, the opportunities for Scotland will remain elusive.

Reaching net zero is an imperative. Watching the news, it seems as though the planet is burning and drowning at the same time. However, it is also an opportunity for Scotland. We can realise net zero. We can have energy security. We can have a more affordable, cleaner energy supply. We can’t if we keep opening new oil fields.

There would be one winner if Rosebank gets approval: the Norwegian state, which is the majority owner of Rosebank’s developer, Equinor. For the decades it would be operational, Norwegians will profit from these oil reserves. There is no long-term gain for Scotland.

It would be foolish, short-sighted, and downright dangerous for the UK Government to approve it. This oil field should not go ahead, and the final decision should be devolved to Holyrood to allow MSPs to make a more considered decision. We need the political power to make these changes. Of course, ultimately, that is what political independence offers us.

Tommy Sheppard is SNP MP for Edinburgh East and vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change

Scotland's Rosebank oil field cannot be given green light if global warming target is to be met – Tommy Sheppard

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