Environment
Jackdaw: The false promises of another gas field
Key Points
Global temperatures will increase 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.1 What once seemed unthinkable is now undeniable. But how much global temperatures increase beyond 1.5°C is still up to us. With current policies, global warming is heading towards a 2.8°C increase within this century.1
Global temperatures will increase 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.1 What once seemed unthinkable is now undeniable. But how much global temperatures increase beyond 1.5°C is still up to us. With current policies, global warming is heading towards a 2.8°C increase within this century.1 The 2026 Planetary Health Check finds that seven of the nine planetary boundaries, our life support systems, have been breached.2This is the backdrop against which the UK government approved the Jackdaw gas field. While alarm bells are going off around the world, it gave the green light to more drilling for more fossil fuels—to more emissions, more harm, and more injustice.The government is selling this decision as an act of pragmatism: protecting jobs, supporting people through the cost of living crisis, and ensuring that homes are kept warm through the winter using locally sourced fossil fuels. But Jackdaw will have no meaningful effect on any of this. An...