A group of high-profile musicians, including Paloma Faith, Robert Smith of The Cure and Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, have signed an open letter calling on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to reject future drilling at the North Sea’s Rosebank oil field.
The letter, addressed to Sir Keir and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, argues that further development at the site, located north-west of Shetland, would undermine the UK’s climate commitments and fail to deliver tangible benefits for the public.
Co-ordinated by climate action group Earth Percent and backed by the Stop Rosebank campaign, the letter has also been signed by artists such as Lola Young, Enter Shikari, Imogen Heap and Olly Alexander of Years & Years. It urges the government to “follow the science” and refuse any new application to exploit Rosebank’s reserves.
Producer Brian Eno, co-founder of Earth Percent, warned: “Fossil fuels are not only unsustainable – they are actively destructive. The evidence is clear: burning them accelerates the climate crisis, endangers our futures, and undermines the UK’s credibility as a climate leader. The Prime Minister must listen – reject Rosebank, and stop approving new oil and gas developments.”
The campaign has received support from within the creative community for several years. Cathy Runciman, Earth Percent’s co-executive director, said: “The Prime Minister must commit to a clean, fair transition that protects people and the planet alike.”
Lauren MacDonald, lead campaigner at Stop Rosebank, added: “Opposition to Rosebank is not just found among climate activists. A broad church of opponents has developed since the field’s approval in 2023, from local communities to artists who understand what’s at stake if the government continues to back oil giants over climate science.”
The Rosebank oil field, operated by Equinor, has been at the centre of legal challenges following a landmark Supreme Court ruling that downstream emissions – those produced when fuels are burned – should be considered in environmental assessments. Earlier this year, the Court of Session in Edinburgh upheld a challenge brought by Greenpeace and Uplift, arguing that the UK Government and North Sea Transition Authority acted unlawfully in granting consent without factoring in those emissions.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero said: “Our priority is to deliver a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations. This supports our clean energy future, energy security, lower bills and good, long-term jobs.”
