THE BISHOP of Reading is among more than 400 Church leaders calling on the government to rethink plans for a new oil field.
Last month, the government announced that the Rosebank scheme would go ahead in the North Sea.
The government argues that it will strengthen the country’s energy security, by producing an estimated 69,000 barrels of oil and 44 million cubic feet of gas daily.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “We are accelerating renewables and nuclear power, but will still need oil and gas for decades to come – so let’s get more of what we need from within British waters.
“Rosebank has been a huge untapped resource and now this investment will bring in billions of pounds into our economy to help secure our future energy supply.”
But Operation Noah, which is coordinating the Church’s response, says there are alternatives, and that a dollar invested in renewable energy creates three times more jobs than fossil fuel industries, and while solutions were available for the transition to renewable energy, they felt the political will was lacking.
Nicky Bull, vice chair of Operation Noah, said: “UK Church leaders understand that this is not a time for political partisanship, but a time for moral clarity. Stopping Rosebank is a moral imperative, something faith leaders have made clear with our open letter.”
In addition to the Rt Revd Olivia Graham signing the letter, she has been joined by her Diocese counterparts, the bishops for Oxford, Buckingham and Dorchester, as well as Free Church and Catholic leaders, and former Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Revd Rowan Williams.
Dr Williams said: “We need to remember that postponing action on the climate is not a neutral matter but makes the problem more acute. Do we really want to leave the next generation with a challenge even more hard and costly than the one we face today?”
The letter from Church and charity leaders came a day after Pope Francis issued a papal document, pushing back against climate denial, defending climate protestors and calling for decisive action as “the world in which we live is collapsing and may be near breaking point”.
The Diocese of Oxford says it has committed to achieving net zero carbon by 2035, and completed its divestment from fossil fuels in 2021.
