Rosebank, Jackdaw projects cost climate damage
Researchers from the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, and the University of Sheffield’s Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures found that approving the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields would cause climate damage worth up to £483bn, far exceeding the £28.7bn economic benefit they would generate. The study, released after the public consultation on the £8.7bn Rosebank project, estimates climate damages between £170bn and £483bn over the projects’ lifetimes, equatin
Researchers from the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, and the University of Sheffield’s Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures found that approving the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields would cause climate damage worth up to £483bn, far exceeding the £28.7bn economic benefit they would generate.
The study, released after the public consultation on the £8.7bn Rosebank project, estimates climate damages between £170bn and £483bn over the projects’ lifetimes, equating to six to seventeen times the anticipated economic output.
Climate Damage vs Economic Gain
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate Damage (project lifetime) | £170bn - £483bn |
| Economic Output (jobs & output) | £28.7bn |
The researchers argue that if less than 6% of the projected climate damages were actually felt in the UK, the projects would destroy more value than they create.
Emissions Impact
| Scenario | CO2e (tonnes) | % of UK 2025 territorial emissions |
|---|---|---|
| High production | 299,000,000 | 81% |
| Low production | 208,000,000 | 57% |
Extraction would peak in the early years of operation, with about 21 million tonnes of CO2e in 2030. This would add an extra 2-3% to the 68% emissions reduction the UK has committed to by 2030.
Consultation Context
The conclusion of the consultation, held by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), will inform the decision on whether work on the £8.7bn Rosebank oil and gas field project goes ahead. The consultation has drawn criticism from green campaigners, who have called on the UK Government to accelerate clean energy deployment and cut fossil fuel reliance, while the country has seen record-high temperatures, consecutive heatwaves and worsening drought.
Decommissioning Update
Spirit Energy has completed a £40m decommissioning operation on three subsea wells, removing more than 230 tonnes of subsea infrastructure. The plug and abandonment activities took place on the Seven Seas and Grove G5 production wells, and the Grove Deep exploration well on the North Sea in April and July. Seven Seas and Grove G5 wells collectively produced 56 billion cubic feet of gas during their operational lives, enough to heat more than 2.5 million homes for a year.
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) reported that there was a record £2.6bn spent on decommissioning old fossil fuel sites in the North Sea in 2025, with a further 1,000 additional projects forecast to be decommissioned over the next five years.
For more detailed figures, see our stats page. The decommissioning operations are also listed in our fixtures database.
