A 'double standard' for developing countries

Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, said the Jackdaw gasfield approval is a serious blow to Britain's international climate credibility. In his view, the UK cannot ask developing countries to move away from fossil fuels while giving the green light to new drilling at home.

Leadership is about what you do

Adow argued that Britain has spent years presenting itself as a climate leader, but that leadership is about what you do, not what you say. Approving new gas developments at a time when the world urgently needs to reduce fossil fuel dependence, he said, sends completely the wrong message.

Campaigners opposed to the Jackdaw gasfield approval set out a series of objections:

• Climate campaigners said the approval would jeopardise UK climate targets, fail to reduce the cost of living and distract from decarbonising energy.
• Danny Gross of Friends of the Earth noted the UK has just endured its hottest summer on record, with droughts, wildfires and probably the most heat-related deaths on record, while the UN has warned the world is on the brink of breaching the 1.5C warming limit.
• Because Jackdaw's gas will be sold on international markets, Gross said it will not bolster UK energy security and will add to global emissions.
• Tessa Khan, Uplift's executive director, said the decision benefits oil giants and their shareholders rather than making life more affordable as Burnham promised.

Domestic campaigners condemn the approval

The international criticism mirrors reactions from UK groups. Gross asked whether the prime minister was "living in a parallel universe" and called the disconnect between the government's green ambitions and its actions maddening. Greenpeace UK's head of politics, Ami McCarthy, said the approval shows the toxic grip fossil fuel lobbyists still hold over energy policy. She said Jackdaw won't lower energy bills, won't boost energy security and will create just 27 full-time jobs.

Green party leader Zack Polanski went further, saying: "This is climate vandalism. Today's decision by Labour is a betrayal of all of our futures." He said Labour has abandoned all credibility in the fight against climate change, and noted the energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has herself said the field will make no difference to energy bills. Polanski also cited the health secretary's admission that the summer heatwave added pressure on the NHS, and called the approval "a victory for Shell over the people".

The next test: Cop31

The diplomatic test comes soon: next month Turkey hosts Cop31, the next UN climate summit, and Burnham and Fahnbulleh are both expected there. Governments attending will be asked to demonstrate that their climate commitments are being met. Meanwhile, a decision on the Rosebank oilfield remains outstanding.