The Climate Choir Movement hope to convince Labour to reject the controversial planned North Sea oilfield
A hundred Climate Choir Movement members performed surprise flashmobs in St Pancras and King’s Cross stations to call on the government to reject the planned Rosebank oilfield. The choir performed reworded versions of Handel’s Hallelujah chorus and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar, calling on the government to ‘stop Rosebank’ and telling Rosebank’s owner, oil giant Equinor, ‘we don’t want your dirty oil no more’.
Despite the choir infringing TFL by-laws, TFL security mostly didn’t intervene, while members of the public responding by joining in and dancing. It is the second time that the Climate Choir Movement has protested against Rosebank; in 2024 they performed a musical flashmob against Rosebank in the Houses of Parliament.
Lauren MacDonald, Lead Campaigner for Stop Rosebank, said:
“If this government is serious about its responsibility to future generations, not to mention communities around the world already facing severe climate stress, it should accept the evidence that there is no room for new North Sea projects if we’re to maintain a safe climate. This is why people are raising their voices (in four-part harmony) and why the government must reject Equinor’s application to drill Rosebank.
“Rosebank is not just a really bad deal for the UK, with most of the profits going to Norway, it is a defining test of this government’s credibility on climate. The government must ignore the fossil-fuel lobbyists and instead listen to scientists, to the million people that are opposed to Rosebank and to this wonderful choir.”
Climate Choir Movement musical director Kai Honey commented: “the movement to permit Equinor to drill in the North Sea is based on falsehoods. Rosebank is not going to make our bills cheaper, nor will it make Britain more energy secure. The oil from Rosebank is going to be sold on international markets. For the sake of our future stable climate on which we all depend, giving Rosebank the go-ahead is madness. We will rise up singing until the field is rejected once and for all.”
Why Rosebank Must Be Stopped
Rosebank is nearly 500 million barrels – making it the largest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea, almost three times larger than Cambo. 90% of its reserves are oil, and the majority is likely to be exported, rather than benefit UK consumers.
Burning its reserves would produce more CO₂ than the combined annual emissions of the 28 lowest-income countries, including Uganda, Ethiopia, and Mozambique – home to 700 million people already suffering the worst impacts of climate change.
The UK public would carry nearly 84% of development costs through generous subsidies and tax breaks – billions in public funds – while Equinor (which holds a majority stake) and its partner Ithaca Energy reap the profits. In fact, the UK could face a net loss exceeding £250 million, while these companies earn £1.5 billion in profit.
The extraction would also harm marine ecosystems: infrastructure like pipelines would cut through protected seabeds, threatening coral gardens, deep-sea sponges, long-lived clams, whales, and dolphins.
Legal and Moral Weight
In a major victory for climate justice, the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled (January 2025) that the approval of Rosebank was unlawful, citing the government’s failure to assess downstream emissions from burning the oil. A fresh decision must now be made, with proper environmental assessment and public consultation.
The campaign has mobilised unprecedented support: over 1 million people, 700 scientists and experts, 400 faith leaders, MPs across political parties, and organisations like WWF, Oxfam, Save the Children, and the UK Science Museum (which has cut ties with Equinor) are united in opposition.
About the Climate Choir Movement
Founded in Bristol in late 2022, the Climate Choir Movement uses peaceful, creative performance to challenge corporate and political contributors to the climate crisis. Choirs have performed in museums, courts, investment hubs, financial districts, airports, and cathedrals across the UK.
Today, the movement includes 18 choirs across Bath, Bristol, Ballycastle, Cambridge, Derbyshire, Exeter, Forest of Dean, Guildford, Hay-on-Wye, London, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Southampton, Wyre Forest and Zimbabwe, with a combined membership of around 900 singers.
More information: https://climatechoirmovement.org/
More about Rosebank
More about Rosebank:
https://www.stopcambo.org.uk/updates/what-is-the-rosebank-oil-field
Responses to Rosebank:
Environmentalists to challenge Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in court
Rosebank North Sea oil field legal challenge successful
https://www.thenational.scot/news/24896286.rosebank-north-sea-oil-field-legal-challenge-successful/
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