Big Win for Climate: UK Government Tightens Rules on Oil and Gas Projects

The UK Government has just published the results of its consultation on domestic oil and gas extraction – and it’s good news for the climate!

After months of pressure, the rules have been significantly tightened. Crucially, the new framework finally includes emissions from burning fossil fuels, not just those from extracting them. That might sound obvious, but until now, major oil and gas projects could be approved without properly accounting for the vast climate impact of the end-use emissions – the CO₂ released when the fuel is actually burned.

Rosebank is one of the biggest undeveloped oil fields in the North Sea. If approved, it could release over 200 million tonnes of CO₂ over its lifetime. That’s more than the annual emissions of the 28 lowest-emitting countries combined. Letting it go ahead would punch a gaping hole in the UK’s climate commitments and contribute to increasingly catastrophic global climate impacts.

The current government has pledged to issue no new oil and gas licenses – a big shift from recent years. Rosebank, however, already has a license but is still under appeal. The good news? It will now be reassessed under the new, stricter regulations.

This shift is a direct result of tireless work from environmental groups, campaigners, and people like you.

We joined forces with the Stop Rosebank coalition to submit a strong joint consultation response. On top of that, we sent in our own submission, which included every single Send It For Climate postcard message that mentioned Rosebank or new oil and gas. And we didn’t stop there – we raised these issues in our campaign asks and took them directly to Climate Change Minister Kerry McCarthy in a face-to-face meeting.

Your voices were heard. And they made a difference.

There’s still a long road ahead. Rosebank hasn’t been stopped yet – but it's now facing a far more rigorous approval process. We'll be watching closely and pushing hard to ensure climate science, not fossil fuel lobbying, drives the final decision.

For now, though, this is a real win for climate justice – and it shows that when we speak up, we can shift the system.

Thank you for pushing on - stay tuned – and keep sending it for climate!