The Know Daily - Wednesday 27 September 2023

_{Wednesday 27 September ∙ Read in 5m 39s ∙ Listening to Billie Eilish}

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Humpback whales have returned to the Salish Sea - an inland body of water on the west coast of Canada and the US - in larger numbers than have been seen in decades. The creatures were hunted to near-extinction as a result of commercial whaling, so this news is pretty fin-tastic!

🛢️ Oil field approved

The controversial Rosebank oil field, located 80 miles west of the Scottish archipelago of Shetland, has been given the green light by regulators.

Tell me more.
Rosebank is the UK’s largest untapped oil field and is estimated to contain 500 million barrels of oil - but a decision on its development had been “repeatedly delayed”, said the BBC.

Now, the oil and gas regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), has granted development and production consents to owners Equinor and Ithaca Energy - both major oil and gas companies. Ithaca Energy’s executive chairperson said the development would “not only provide critically important domestic energy” but also “ignite substantial economic impact”.

Why is Rosebank so controversial?
Environmental campaigners have repeatedly called on the UK government to block Rosebank over concerns that it will make the target of reaching net zero by 2050 unachievable. Last month, a cross-party group of 50 MPs and peers wrote to the then energy secretary Grant Shapps urging him to halt the development, saying it could produce 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

In their letter, the group added that the oil field would do “nothing” to reduce household bills, pointing to the fact that its oil reserves would be sold “on the global market at global prices”.

What’s the bigger picture?
Today’s announcement is likely to “reignite the debate around Britain’s climate change strategy”, said Reuters, after PM Rishi Sunak “watered down” key green commitments in a speech last week. His announcement - which included delaying the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035 - prompted widespread criticism.

In July, the government said that it would issue hundreds of new licences for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.

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