- Gas field would emit as much as 20 million UK cars driven for
a year
Fossil fuel giant Shell has been forced to reveal the true scale
of planet-heating emissions from its Jackdaw gas field following
a successful legal challenge by Greenpeace UK and Uplift.
In the additional information Shell
has submitted to the government today, the oil company calculates
Jackdaw's total emissions, including those known as Scope 3,
could be as high as 36 million tonnes of CO2
equivalent over the project's lifetime. This is
equivalent to the average emissions of around 20 million cars
driving on UK roads for a year, according to analysis by
Greenpeace UK.
The disclosure follows a successful legal case
brought by environmental campaigners that quashed consent for the
Rosebank and Jackdaw fields. The judge ruled they were unlawful
as the approval process didn't take into account emissions from
burning the oil and gas extracted from those fields.
New gas from the North Sea will not lower energy bills for UK
households as it's sold on the global market.
Commenting on the report, Greenpeace UK's co-executive
director Areeba Hamid said:
"Now our legal win has forced Shell to reveal the sheer scale of
pollution expected from Jackdaw, it's looking more and more like
a dud project for the UK. The gas from Jackdaw won't take a penny
off our energy bills but will generate as many emissions as 20
million cars driving on UK roads for a year. This will fuel more
extreme weather like the devastating droughts, wildfires and
floods we have seen this year, leaving ordinary people to pick up
the bill. It's decision-time for ministers: if they approve
Jackdaw, it'll be Shell's profit, our loss.”
