Zack Polanski has accused the Labour government of ‘climate vandalism’ over its decision to approve extraction from the Jackdaw gas field.
On Wednesday, Andy Burnham’s government confirmed drilling would start at the North Sea site. The government said Jackdaw will start to supply gas to British homes and businesses from as early as the end of this month, helping heat millions of homes and protecting hundreds of jobs.”
Meanwhile, Chancellor John Healey said tax revenue raised from oil and gas extraction will be put into a new ‘Energy Wealth Fund’ to invest in “green transition.”
READ NEXT: Burnham’s climate policy is treating the symptoms and not the disease
But the decision to approve the extraction of fossil fuels amid the continued climate crisis the world and UK is facing been slammed by a number of voices.
The new field will provide less than 3% of the UK’s gas needs, and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has already told the BBC that the Jackdaw approval will have no impact on energy bills this winter.
Unsurprisingly, Green voices have reacted with the most anger to the news, with Green Party leader Zack Polanski accusing the government if “climate vandalism.”
In a post on X, he wrote: “Today’s decision by Labour to approve new drilling in the North Sea is climate vandalism. It’s a betrayal of all of our futures, and Labour has abandoned all credibility in the fight against climate change.
“This is a victory for Shell over the people.”
In a later post, Polanski dismissed claims from Fahnbulleh that it was a “pragmatic” decision, arguing it will “continue us further down the path of floods and wildfires.”
Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas also condemned Labour’s decision, saying it “takes a wrecking ball to any pretence of UK climate leadership and pours fuel on an overheating world.”
Ami McCarthy, head of politics for Greenpeace UK, said: “Approving Jackdaw shows the toxic grip fossil fuel lobbyists still hold over our energy policy.
“Andy Burnham promised pragmatism, but there is nothing pragmatic about rubber-stamping a project that won’t lower energy bills, won’t boost energy security and will create just 27 full-time jobs.”
Burnham himself has maintained that the government is still committed to its net zero targets.
He said: “At a time when people are really struggling, it’s right that we look in a responsible way at maximising the existing energy reserves we have in Britain that could help.
“We’re committed to moving towards renewable energy and reaching net zero by 2050. But even on our ambitious climate path, we’ll still require oil and gas as part of our energy needs for decades to come. That’s why we’re taking a pragmatic approach to the North Sea.”