Scottish Greens Condemn Rosebank Oil Field as ‘Climate Vandalism’
Scottish Green Party co-leader Gillian Mackay has branded the proposed Rosebank oil field development as “pure climate vandalism” during her conference speech in Edinburgh. The condemnation comes as protesters gathered in London against the North Sea drilling project.
Key Takeaways
- Rosebank field contains estimated 300 million barrels of oil
- Development plans resubmitted by Equinor despite legal challenges
- Scottish Greens vow to stop the project and call out “big polluter lies”
- Grangemouth refinery closure highlights transition failures
Rosebank Development Controversy
Plans to develop the Rosebank field – estimated to contain up to 300 million barrels of oil – have been resubmitted by owners Equinor. The field lies 80 miles west of Shetland and had received Conservative government approval in 2023 before legal challenges emerged.
Ms Mackay stated: “Drilling for new oil and gas in fields like Rosebank will do nothing to lower energy bills or protect our planet. It is pure climate vandalism and we have to stop Rosebank.”
Cross-Border Green Opposition
Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, joined the criticism during London protests, calling the UK “one of the most nature depleted countries in the world.” He demanded the government “stop making things worse.”
Grangemouth Closure Fallout
Ms Mackay also criticized the UK Government over the closure of Scotland’s only oil refinery in Grangemouth, where hundreds of jobs were lost earlier this year. Having grown up in the area, she expressed frustration with empty “just transition” slogans.
“What happened in Grangemouth is not a just transition,” she said. “Our communities don’t need empty words… They need real plans to provide real jobs and real opportunities.”
She insisted the refinery “could have been nationalised” and criticized Labour’s unfulfilled £200 million promise to save the facility.
Election Ambitions and Personal Motivation
With the Scottish Greens aiming to overtake Labour in May’s Holyrood elections, Ms Mackay described her party as “on the verge of a historic election.” The birth of her first child in June has strengthened her commitment to “building a greener Scotland.”
She praised her party’s co-leadership model for enabling her to balance motherhood with leadership responsibilities, contrasting it with barriers she might have faced in other parties.
