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Let's be friendsTake Action to stop RBS funding arctic drilling
RBS arranged finance for Cairn Energy, a company proud to be leading the drive towards artic oil drilling, since it was bailed out by the Treasury. People & Planet are taking the Treasury to court for allowing this to happen. You can take action to support this legal challenge by emailing the Treasury and by lobbying your MP.
RBS arranged the finance allowing the Scottish oil company Cairn Energy to forge ahead with oil exploration in pristine parts of Greenland’s Arctic. In March 2009, following the Treasury’s bail out of the bank with public money, RBS acted as joint arranger with Merrill Lynch, placing shares worth £116 million for “accelerated drilling” in Greenland by Cairn Energy.
Determined to tap into potential oil reserves within this untouched region, Cairn Energy are keen to lead the rush into Arctic drilling, describing Greenland as ‘a true frontier country’. It has already gained licences covering 72,000 square kilometres off Greenland’s west coast, an area half the size of England. Cairn Energy have suggested that these are just the beginning and that it hopes to expand further. The US Geological Survey has estimated that over 16 billion barrels of oil and gas could lie off Greenland’s coast. Taking this out of the ground would be an absolute disaster for global efforts to tackle climate change.
HM Treasury has a responsibility to ensure that RBS reduce their footprint.
A slide within Cairn’s presentations on Arctic oil exploration shows the melting Arctic ice. Reduced heavy sea ice makes exploration work easier around Cairn’s two most “promising” licences, off Disko Island - an area frequently visited by those inspecting the impacts of climate change first hand. What Cairn Energy views as an opportunity, Greenland’s Inuit population experience as a threat to their very survival and are increasingly vocal about the impacts which climate change is already having on them. Local leader Aqqaluk Lynge acted as a witness in the court trial of ‘The Kingsnorth Six’ who had been charged with disrupting a coal fired power station in Kent.
Arctic exploration is high-cost and high-risk, without guaranteed returns. Cairn Energy have talked up the size of their plans, stating “there’s going to need to be a lot of wells drilled before you’re successful.” Cairn Energy projects don’t even guarantee an affordable energy supply. Not only does this mean more environmental degradation, but it also reveals the Government’s hypocrisy in allowing a publicly-owned bank to support reckless fossil fuel companies with no regard to climate change. RBS should be investing in the renewable and sustainable energy sources we know provide solutions to climate change and security in energy supply.
