The annual migration of students into Oxford coincided with the Extinction Rebellion protest at Cornmarket Street on Sunday, marking the start of the new academic year. The protesters chanted and played the drums outside the local Greggs to raise awareness about the government’s recent go-ahead for the development of the Rosebank oil and gas field by Norwegian oil giant Equinor.
The decision to open up the Rosebank field was announced on 27 September, a week after the Sunak government’s decision to U-turn on key climate targets. The licence includes a £3.75bn tax cut for Equinor’s investment in the project. On the issue, Keir Starmer reiterated Labour’s position: “No new licences to be granted when we’re in power, but we won’t revoke anything”, which drew the ire of climate activists.
In response, Extinction Rebellion has called for residents to send a letter to East Oxford MP Annaliese Dodds calling on her to “press the Labour Party to commit to stopping the development of the field should it win the next election”. The urgency of climate action was underlined: “After the hottest summer on record, your duty to protect ordinary people’s safety is more pressing than ever. There is no time to waste.”
The sentiments of the letter were echoed by Ruby, a third-year Hertford engineering student. She addressed the magnitude of the project’s carbon footprint: “The emissions of the project will be the same as those of the 28 poorest countries last year” further stating that “the government claims to be on target to net zero, but this project would shatter any chance of reaching that goal.”
Daniella Tramonti, a resident of Oxford talked about the importance of climate action: “Maybe a lot of people think it is pointless, but we are still hopeful that changes can be made. Every action we take is worthwhile.” She said that even small actions are important: “Sometimes what we ask is quite simple, just use a template to send an email to your MP.”
When asked about all the noise being made by the protestors and whether it was disrupting business, a worker in a local shop replied: “It’s a common busking spot, doesn’t make any difference to us who’s using it, we just close our doors.”
