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UK premiere of documentary featuring Jane Fonda exposes toxic impacts of US fracking boom.
25 June 2026
Main image: credit Fossil Free London
Campaigners from Fossil Free London protested new oil and gas in Parliament Square this morning (07 July) as the third heatwave of the summer hit London.
The group wore matching red swimming costumes and lay on white towels to imitate popular media images of beachgoers in hot weather. Each sunbather waved a ‘Stop Rosebank’ fan and behind them a large banner read ‘No New Oil & Gas’.
The protest comes on the heels of the UK’s hottest June on record, and as uncertainty lingers about whether Andy Burnham will approve the Rosebank and Jackdaw North Sea oil fields once he becomes prime minister.
New amber heat-health alerts have been issued across many parts of the country for this week’s heatwave; scientists stress that this extreme heat would not be possible without the climate crisis, which is driven by burning fossil fuels.
‘People are sweating in this heat, and they’re nervous about what it means for their lives. Heat stress? It’s fossil fuels.
‘Any politician who approves oil and gas in the midst of this climate crisis is signing on the dotted line for murder on a mass scale. All to pay big cheques to the Big Oil industry. Our message to our incoming prime minister on fossil fuels is this: Andy, don’t burn’em! Stop Rosebank.’
ROBIN WELLS
Fossil Free London
While Burnham didn’t explicitly mention North Sea drilling when setting out his vision for the country, he has previously said he was ‘open minded’ on the issue. He also appointed James Purnell, a former advisor for BP, as his Chief of Staff.
As speculation rises, scores of Labour MPs, trade unions and Green Party leader Zack Polanski have called for him to rule out new North Sea drilling.
The Rosebank oil field was originally approved in 2023 by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government, but this decision was overturned in the Scottish courts in January 2025. The Labour government will now need to make a decision, taking into account the project’s full climate impacts.
Burning Rosebank’s total estimated oil and gas reserves would emit more carbon dioxide than is released annually by the world’s 28 lowest-income countries combined.
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