{
  "id": 15786496,
  "title": "Jackdaw North Sea gasfield to get go-ahead in blow to climate campaigners",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/jackdaw-north-sea-gasfield-to-get-go-ahead-in-blow-to-climate",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-20T18:24:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Business",
    "slug": "guardian-business",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/oct/20/jackdaw-north-sea-gas-field-to-get-go-ahead-in-blow-to-climate-campaigners"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Jackdaw North Sea gasfield has been approved for drilling, signaling the government's commitment to the North Sea fossil fuel industry. This decision will be made public by Energy Secretary and Chancellor Miatta Fahnbulleh and Chancellor John Healey on Wednesday, following a year-long deliberation. The approval marks a significant boost for Britain's oil and gas industry, particularly for Shell and the Norwegian company Equinor, which operate the field. However, climate campaigners view the decision as a blow to Labour's green credentials and will exacerbate the climate crisis. Tessa Khan, executive director of the anti-oil campaign group Uplift, argues that Jackdaw will only provide 2% of the country's gas demand for around 10 years and won't halt the overall decline in North Sea jobs. She also asserts that no new oil and gas fields are compatible with safe climate limits. The field is expected to contribute to 6% of North Sea gas production when fully operational, making it one of the largest undeveloped fields in the region. Despite Labour's promise not to grant any new licenses in the North Sea, both Jackdaw and Rosebank have been put into question after a recent ruling that their environmental approval was improperly granted. This decision could potentially affect Labour's position in the north-east of Scotland, where the industry is largely based and where unions have strongly campaigned for the permits to be granted.",
  "summary": "Move signals Andy Burnham’s commitment to the North Sea industry but threatens to undermine Labour’s green credentials The Jackdaw gasfield will be given the go-ahead on Wednesday, signalling Andy Burnham’s commitment to the North Sea fossil fuel industry and threatening to trigger a row with climate campaigners and Labour MPs. Miatta Fahnbulleh and John Healey, the energy secretary and…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}