The facts
The Guardian reports, citing officials, that UK Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is leaning towards rejecting the Rosebank oilfield. This potential decision follows her approval of the smaller Jackdaw gasfield. Fahnbulleh has stated that Jackdaw serves domestic gas needs, while Rosebank is primarily an export-oriented oil project, leading her to view the cases differently. Officials suggest Rosebank would produce significantly more carbon emissions than Jackdaw and contribute less to UK energy security due to its export focus. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has called the report speculation. Fahnbulleh has indicated that the Jackdaw approval was not intended to lower household energy bills. Prime Minister Andy Burnham could potentially overrule Fahnbulleh, with a final decision expected before the end of the year. Some Labour MPs have expressed concerns about approving Rosebank, while others support the rationale for Jackdaw as a transition necessity.
Our take
Well, fuck me sideways, the UK Energy Secretary has discovered the difference between a gas tap and a fucking oil siphon aimed at the planet’s jugular. Miatta Fahnbulleh, after happily rubber-stamping the Jackdaw gasfield with some mealy-mouthed shit about ‘domestic needs’, is now ‘leaning towards’ telling the even bigger, filthier Rosebank oilfield to get fucked. What a revelation. One project might, in a twisted, transitional sense, keep the lights on. The other is just a fucking carbon ATM for oil companies to withdraw profits and deposit ecological collapse, with most of the juice shipped overseas. It only took her entire tenure to notice that distinction, the sharp political mind that she is.
Her department, of course, is calling this ‘speculation’, because admitting a cabinet minister might have a semi-coherent thought before an election would be catastrophic for government morale. The real story is that Prime Minister Andy Burnham could still overrule this flash of principle, because when has a Labour leader ever missed a chance to deep-throat a fossil fuel lobbyist? The whole pantomime is a masterclass in cowardly incrementalism: approve the ‘necessary’ disaster to look reasonable, then maybe, possibly, consider blocking the ‘excessive’ disaster to placate the green wing.
Let’s be clear: Fahnbulleh’s alleged moral calculus here is the political equivalent of a vegan picking the bacon bits out of a salad. You’ve already approved one massive fossil fuel project, you absolute hypocrite. You’ve already lubricated the industry’s dick with the Jackdaw approval. Pretending Rosebank is a bridge too far is like a serial arsonist objecting to using premium gasoline. The only thing more pathetic than her flimsy, last-minute ‘principles’ are the Labour MPs wringing their hands about it, as if any of these spineless cunts would actually choose the planet over a marginally favourable headline in the Daily Mail. The decision lands by year’s end. Place your bets on principle crumbling faster than a biscuit in a toddler’s fist.
Burnham will fold her like a cheap suit. She’ll probably thank him for the opportunity. The planet gets fucked again. Business as usual.
