By David Bol

Copyright scotsman

The fossil fuel giant behind the controversial Rosebank oil field plans has resubmitted its environmental impact assessment – ahead of UK ministers having a final say on whether the plans should go ahead. Equinor, bringing forward plans to develop the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea, is having to argue that burning the fossil fuels contained within the site will not have an adverse impact on the environment, following a court ruling. In January, the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled it was unlawful for the Rosebank project, and the Jackdaw gas field plans, to be given the green light – with developers told to resubmit environmental plans with the emissions from burning the fossil fuels contained in the sites, known as scope 3 emissions, taken into account. Rosebank’s total emissions would be equivalent to those produced by more than 700 million people in the world’s 28 lowest income countries combined, while the vast majority of Rosebank’s oil will be sold for export on the international market rather than used in the UK. READ MORE: Labour urged to agree to ‘bespoke’ oil and gas permits after independent review findings But amid the stricter guidance for oil and gas giants, after Labour vowed to end new licensing, is an ability for UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to weigh up the environmental harm against the economic benefits of allowing the project to proceed. It is understood the Labour government is considering weakening its pledge to end new licences by looking at a compromise of so-called “tiebacks” which would allow “small expansions” of fields that involve existing pipelines and infrastructure – in order to balance climate commitments with economic growth. The tieback permits idea was proposed after an independent review by experts at Aberdeen University. Now Equinor has submitted its updated emissions assessment for the Rosebank oil field and is officially “under review” by regulators following the scope 3 emissions review. An Equinor spokesperson said: “We have submitted our response to the regulator OPRED for the request for further information on Rosebank, which includes the assessment of ‘Scope 3’ emissions associated with the project.  “We remain fully committed to working closely with all relevant stakeholders to advance the Rosebank project. READ MORE: Rosebank and other North Sea oil and gas fields could be given green light under new guidelines “Rosebank is an important contributor to the UK’s energy security. It is a vital project for the UK economy and is already bringing benefits in terms of local investment and job creation.” But climate campaigners have repeated calls for the project to be rejected, pointing to the “long-term harm” that will be caused to the environment. Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director, Areeba Hamid, said: “Rosebank is a polluting project that will fleece UK taxpayers, destabilise the climate and make more profits for Equinor. READ MORE: North Sea boss warns ‘polarised’ oil and gas debate putting jobs at risk and makes Rosebank prediction “It won’t take a penny off our energy bills, but it will give the Norwegian oil giant access to billions in taxpayer-funded subsidies. “At least, thanks to a decisive court ruling, Equinor and other fossil fuel companies now have to come clean over the full scale of climate damage caused by new drilling sites in the North Sea, and ministers have to take that into account. “If these environmental assessments are done properly, they’ll reveal the long-lasting harm new fossil fuel projects like Rosebank will do to communities in the UK and around the world, and why they should be stopped.”