Andy Burnham Vows UK Will Hit Net Zero Target Despite Jackdaw Approval
Prime minister says he will not "abandon the responsibility" of fighting the climate crisis and will approve no new North Sea licences
By AXY Politics Desk ·
Key points
- Andy Burnham said the UK will still hit its 2050 net zero target after the government approved the Jackdaw gasfield.
- He said he will not approve any new North Sea licences and will not "abandon the responsibility" of fighting the climate crisis.
- Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh says she alone will decide on the Rosebank oilfield, and sources say she is minded to block it.
- Burnham faces pressure from industry, political opponents and some Labour MPs to water down manifesto promises on oil, gas and net zero.
- The Rosebank decision is the next major test of whether the government's stance on North Sea production holds.
Andy Burnham has said he will not "abandon the responsibility" of fighting the climate crisis, even after the government approved the Jackdaw gasfield. The prime minister said he would not approve any new North Sea licences and that he would hit the net zero 2050 target. He made the case in a written article for the Guardian, in what is his most forthright statement yet on net zero.
The timing matters. Many MPs have privately questioned whether Burnham's commitment to tackling the climate crisis is genuine. His article is an attempt to answer that doubt in public, and it ties his name to a promise that is about to be tested by specific decisions on oil and gas.
Burnham's Written Pledge on Net Zero
In the article, Burnham wrote: "There has been much speculation about what this announcement means for Britain's commitment to addressing the climate crisis. I want to be clear that our determination is unwavering." He used the word "unwavering" to close off the idea that the Jackdaw decision signals a retreat.
He also said he was "personally committed to confronting" the challenges of the climate crisis. The phrase is personal by design. A prime minister's own word carries more weight with voters and MPs than a department's policy paper, and Burnham is putting his name on the line.
Burnham tied his pledge to two other points. He said he was conscious of "acute global instability" affecting energy security. He also said he wanted to treat oil and gas workers with more dignity. In his view, those concerns do not stop the government from keeping to its climate targets. The article presents the North Sea workforce and energy security as things to be handled alongside net zero, not as reasons to drop it.
Why the Jackdaw Approval Is Testing the Pledge
Jackdaw is a gasfield in the North Sea, the shallow sea between Britain and continental Europe. Gasfields of this kind are developed beneath the seabed, and the gas is piped to shore for use in homes, power stations and industry. The government's approval means the project can now go ahead.
That approval is the reason Burnham's statement was needed. Jackdaw adds new gas production, and the climate case against new fossil fuel projects is that they lock in emissions for years. Burnham's answer is a narrower one. He is not stopping existing approvals, but he is ruling out new licences in the North Sea.
That is a specific line, and it will be judged on its details. Licences give companies the right to explore for and produce oil and gas. Ruling out new licences means that, if the policy holds, no fresh exploration rights would be granted in the North Sea under his government. Approved projects like Jackdaw would still move forward under the existing system.
Net Zero 2050 and the Law Behind It
Net zero means that the greenhouse gases a country adds to the atmosphere are balanced by the amount it removes or offsets. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, trap heat and drive long-term warming. Reaching net zero means cutting emissions as far as possible and then dealing with what remains.
The UK's target is set in law. The Climate Change Act 2008 originally required cuts in emissions, and it was amended in 2019 to require net zero by 2050. That legal status is why Burnham's words carry weight. A net zero target written into statute is not simply a political aim that can be dropped in a speech. Changing it would require parliament to amend the law.
For ordinary people, the target shapes practical choices. It affects how homes are heated, how cars and buses are powered, and how the electricity grid is built and paid for. It also affects energy bills and jobs in construction, engineering and energy. Because the same decisions shape air quality and heat risk in towns and cities, the target is also a matter of public health.
Rosebank Is the Next Test
The energy secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, has insisted that she alone will decide whether to approve the Rosebank oilfield. Sources say she is minded to block it. Being minded to block means she is leaning towards refusing approval, but the final decision has not yet been made.
Rosebank is important because it is the next major decision on North Sea production after Jackdaw. If Fahnbulleh blocks it, the government's stance on new oil and gas would be shown in practice, not only in speeches. The decision also shows where authority sits. By saying she alone will make the call, Fahnbulleh is making clear that the choice belongs to her department rather than to Downing Street.
The next steps are clear. The energy secretary has to reach a decision on Rosebank. Whatever she decides, the government will then have to explain how its approach to existing approvals, new licences and the net zero target fit together. Those explanations will be tested by industry, by opposition parties and by Labour MPs who want the policy spelled out in more detail.
Labour MPs and the Manifesto Pressure
Burnham has been under pressure from several directions. Industry, political opponents and some Labour MPs have all urged him to water down Labour's manifesto promises on new oil and gas licences and on net zero targets. A manifesto is the set of commitments a party puts to voters before an election. Promises in it are the public benchmark a government is judged against.
That is why the pressure is hard to ignore. Keeping the manifesto promise on licences and the net zero target means disappointing companies and some MPs who wanted more flexibility. Loosening them would invite the charge that the government had broken a pledge it made to voters. Burnham's article chooses the first risk. It is a choice to keep faith with the manifesto, at least on paper.
The political cost is clear. Those who wanted more North Sea production will see the statement as a refusal. The political benefit is also clear. It gives climate campaigners, and MPs who had doubts about his commitment, a concrete set of promises they can hold him to.
Energy Security and the North Sea Workforce
Burnham did not present his position as a simple choice between climate action and jobs. He said he was conscious of "acute global instability" affecting energy security, and he said he wanted to treat oil and gas workers with more dignity. The wording signals that the government recognises the people whose livelihoods depend on the North Sea.
For workers in offshore and supply firms, the practical questions are how long existing projects will continue and what new work will be available as the country shifts to cleaner energy. The article does not set out a plan on those points, so the answers will depend on decisions still to come, including the one on Rosebank.
Energy security is the other half of the argument. Burnham cited global instability as a reason to take the question seriously. For ordinary households, energy security affects whether gas and electricity prices can be kept stable when supply shocks hit. Supporters of new production argue that domestic gas reduces reliance on imports. Burnham's pledge takes a different route, keeping existing approvals while ruling out new licences.
What the Summer Heat Means for the Pledge
Burnham used his article to make a human case for action. "Britain has just emerged from its hottest summer on record, during which we had nurses collapsing on hospital wards, bus drivers working in intolerable conditions and families losing everything to wildfires," he wrote.
The passage links climate change to daily working life. Hospital staff, bus drivers and families affected by wildfires are the people Burnham is speaking for. By describing the consequences in concrete terms, he is arguing that the cost of inaction falls on people who have little say over how energy is produced.
That argument also sets a standard. If the government says the climate crisis is a present danger for nurses, bus drivers and families, voters will expect its decisions on energy to reflect that.
Questions and answers
What did Andy Burnham say about net zero after the Jackdaw approval?
Burnham said he will not "abandon the responsibility" of fighting the climate crisis and that he will hit the net zero 2050 target. He also said he would not approve any new North Sea licences.
What is the Jackdaw gasfield?
Jackdaw is a gasfield in the North Sea. The government has approved it, which means the project can go ahead, and it is at the centre of the debate over the government's climate commitments.
Will the Rosebank oilfield be approved?
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has said she alone will decide on Rosebank, and sources say she is minded to block it. The final decision has not yet been made.
What does net zero 2050 mean for the UK?
Net zero means balancing the greenhouse gases the UK adds to the atmosphere with the amount it removes or offsets. The UK's legal target, set under the Climate Change Act 2008 as amended in 2019, is to reach net zero by 2050.
Topics: Andy Burnham, Net zero, Jackdaw gasfield, Rosebank oilfield, Miatta Fahnbulleh, North Sea licences, UK energy policy
Sources: The Guardian Politics