Leader of the Green Party Zack Polanski said: ‘Shell has spent decades making billions from fossil fuels while ordinary people around the world pay the price’
PM urged to make fossil fuel giants pay compensation for extreme weather
ANDY BURNHAM faced fresh calls today to make oil giants pay communities compensation for extreme weather as new research suggests Shell’s pollution is responsible for nearly a quarter of global heatwaves.
Analysis by campaigners suing the oil and gas giant at the High Court said that the firm’s pollution has made 24 per cent of the 213 global heatwaves reported between 2000 and 2023 at least 10,000 times more likely.
The Odette case campaign’s findings sparked calls by Green Party leader Zack Polanski, unions and fuel poverty campaigners for the Prime Minister to take a hard line on “climate vandalism” ahead of its annual conference in Liverpool.
This summer’s extreme heat caused thousands of deaths in Britain and an estimated more than £4 billion damage to the economy.
Shell, meanwhile, reported profits of over £12bn in the first six months of this year, a 70 per cent year-on-year increase, as the US-Israel war on Iran sent global oil prices soaring.
Greenpeace activists display a billboard during a protest outside Shell headquarters on July 27, 2023 in London. (Photo: Handout/Chris J. Ratcliffe for Greenpeace via Getty Images)Experienced climbers scale a rock face near the historic Dumbarton castle in Glasgow, releasing a banner that reads “Climate on a Cliff Edge.” One activist, dressed as a globe, symbolically looms near the edge, while another plays the bagpipes on the shores below. | Photo courtesy of Extinction Rebellion and Mark RichardsNigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks to staff at the met office in Exeter, to discuss the UK’s ongoing response to extreme heat, wildfires and drought, August 14, 2026
Burnham urged to stand up to the fossil fuel giants and reject plans to drill Britain’s largest untapped oil fields
PRIME MINISTER Andy Burnham was urged to stand up to profiteering fossil fuel giants and reject plans to drill Britain’s largest untapped oil field as consultations on them drew to a close today.
Labour faces a key environmental test as the final decision over the future of the Rosebank oil field, which lies about 80 miles west of Shetland, is left with ministers.
Production at both Rosebank and Jackdaw had been approved by the previous Conservative government, but those decisions were quashed after a legal challenge from Greenpeace, leaving the government to decide whether or not drilling should go ahead.
The decision on the two projects comes after a summer that has seen soaring temperatures and devastating wildfires in both Britain and Europe.
Environmentalists warn that allowing the development of the Jackdaw gas field off the coast of Aberdeen, whose consultation ended last week, would produce more than 250 million tonnes of CO2 — equivalent to 70 per cent of Britain’s annual emissions.
Greenpeace campaigner Maja Darlington said: “The PM wants to be pragmatic, but there is nothing pragmatic about watching communities be battered by climate chaos while the Prime Minister flirts with expanding the very industry driving it.
“More drilling means more heatwaves, more droughts, more wildfires, and more suffering for the communities Burnham represents. The climate crisis is already hitting working people hardest — firefighters on the front line, bus drivers exposed to inhumane heat, nurses collapsing on the job.
Experienced climbers scale a rock face near the historic Dumbarton castle in Glasgow, releasing a banner that reads “Climate on a Cliff Edge.” One activist, dressed as a globe, symbolically looms near the edge, while another plays the bagpipes on the shores below. | Photo courtesy of Extinction Rebellion and Mark RichardsGreenpeace activists display a billboard during a protest outside Shell headquarters on July 27, 2023 in London. (Photo: Handout/Chris J. Ratcliffe for Greenpeace via Getty Images)Orcas comment on killer apes destroying the planet by continuing to burn fossil fuels.
Climate activists from Greenpeace and Uplift during a demonstration outside the Scottish Court of Session, Edinburgh, on the first day of the Rosebank and Jackdaw judicial review hearing, November 12, 2024
STICK to the spirit of Labour’s manifesto commitments, climate campaigners told the Prime Minister as the public consultation on Rosebank closes on Monday.
Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS) demanded Andy Burnham block proposed new North Sea oil fields, claiming their lifetime carbon emissions could result in up to 65,495 excess heat deaths by the end of this century.
Made up of more than 70 organisations with a total of about one million supporters, SCCS wrote an open letter to Mr Burnham and his Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh ahead of the consultation closure for Rosebank, the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea which lies some 80 miles north-west of Shetland.
A similar exercise for the planned Jackdaw gas field, which lies in waters about 150 miles east of Aberdeen, finished on August 10.
Production for both fields had been approved by the previous Conservative government, but a legal challenge from Greenpeace has now left the current government to decide whether or not drilling should go ahead.
SCCS reminded the new PM, who recently issued a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues and brought in the military to help deal with wildfires, that 2,700 excess deaths were linked to heatwaves in May and June alone.
Experienced climbers scale a rock face near the historic Dumbarton castle in Glasgow, releasing a banner that reads “Climate on a Cliff Edge.” One activist, dressed as a globe, symbolically looms near the edge, while another plays the bagpipes on the shores below. | Photo courtesy of Extinction Rebellion and Mark RichardsDonald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
Experienced climbers scale a rock face near the historic Dumbarton castle in Glasgow, releasing a banner that reads “Climate on a Cliff Edge.” One activist, dressed as a globe, symbolically looms near the edge, while another plays the bagpipes on the shores below. | Photo courtesy of Extinction Rebellion and Mark Richards
Without action on climate crisis, far greater numbers will also experience floods, wildfires and droughts, according to report
Eight times as many children around the world will be exposed to extreme heatwaves in the 2050s, and three times as many will face river floods compared with the 2000s if current trends continue, according to the UN.
Nearly twice as many children are also expected to face wildfires, with many more living through droughts and tropical cyclones, according to the annual state of the world’s children report.
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The report, released on Wednesday, World Children’s Day, forecasts how the climate crisis, demographic shifts (sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia are projected to have the largest child populations in the 2050s) and breakthrough technologies will affect children’s lives in the future.
The report said technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) will bring benefits and risks to children, who are already interacting with AI embedded in apps, games and learning software. The digital divide remains stark, however. In 2024, almost 95% of people in high-income countries are connected to the internet, compared with about 25% in low-income countries.
“Children are experiencing a myriad of crises, from climate shocks to online dangers, and these are set to intensify in the years to come,” said Catherine Russell, Unicef’s executive director. “The decisions world leaders make today – or fail to make – define the world children will inherit … Decades of progress, particularly for girls, are under threat.”
Much of the emphasis of the report is on the impact of the climate crisis on children, nearly half of whom (approximately 1 billion) live in countries that face a high risk of environmental disasters. Even before they take their first breath, children’s brains, lungs and immune systems are susceptible to pollution, disease and extreme weather. As they grow, their education, nutrition, safety, security and mental health are shaped by the climate and environment.
Greenpeace activists display a billboard during a protest outside Shell headquarters on July 27, 2023 in London. (Photo: Handout/Chris J. Ratcliffe for Greenpeace via Getty Images)
Experienced climbers scale a rock face near the historic Dumbarton castle in Glasgow, releasing a banner that reads “Climate on a Cliff Edge.” One activist, dressed as a globe, symbolically looms near the edge, while another plays the bagpipes on the shores below. | Photo courtesy of Extinction Rebellion and Mark RichardsOrcas comment on killer apes destroying the planet by continuing to burn fossil fuels. Second version, corrected text.
Leader of the Green Party Zack Polanski said: ‘Shell has spent decades making billions from fossil fuels while ordinary people around the world pay the price’
