‘Hold the Line on Rosebank’ – campaigners target parliament as oil field decision looms

Campaigners from Fossil Free London formed a human red line along the riverbank directly across from Westminster on 3 March. All dressed in red, they held a long red ribbon and signs reading ‘Hold the Line’ and ‘Stop Rosebank’.

The demonstration comes as the government prepares to decide the fate of the Rosebank oil field. It’s the largest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea. However, the Scottish courts overturned its original approval in January 2025.

The court ruling demanded that the project’s primary owner, Norwegian state oil giant Equinor, provide a fuller assessment of the project’s climate impacts before any approval could proceed. Critics argue that burning Rosebank’s total reserves would produce more carbon dioxide than the world’s 28 lowest-income countries emit in a year combined. Also, the vast majority of the oil would go for export. So it wouldn’t be lowering UK energy bills or improving energy security.

The Rosebank development would also hand substantial tax relief from the public purse to Equinor. Equinor’s profits flow largely into Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. A share of profits would also go to the Delek Group, an Israeli fuel conglomerate. The UN has flagged this company for human rights violations in Palestine.

Joanna Warrington, spokesperson for Fossil Free London, said:

Whilst people across the country are watching their bills skyrocket and extreme weather events and climate disasters fill their phone screens: our government stands at a crossroads.

At this point in climate collapse, approving any new oil and gas project is tantamount to climate denial. It is like a doctor diagnosing a patient with lung cancer and handing them a cigarette.

A red line must be drawn. Kier Starmer, stop Rosebank.

Featured image via Fossil Free London