CAMPAIGNERS have condemned the British government’s decision to approve a new oil and gas field in the North Sea just three months after Cop26 climate summit.

Ministers quietly gave oil firm Ithaca Energy the green light to begin construction on the Abigail field, off the east coast of Scotland, on January 19. 

Slamming the decision today, climate organisation Uplift warned that the new oil field will “worsen the climate crisis.” 

The small oil field, which is to cost £200 million, contains 5.5 million barrels of oil and only enough gas to meet Britain’s demand for roughly a day and a half, the group said. 

“Why is the government sanctioning an oil and gas development that will see little to no benefit for UK energy customers or taxpayers, which only worsens the climate crisis, and where the only winners are the oil firm behind the project?” Uplift director Tessa Khan asked.

The oil field project is the first to be given consent in Britain since the Cop26 climate conference was held in Glasgow three months ago.

It comes despite recent warnings from the  International Energy Agency and United Nations that all new oil and gas developments must be halted in order to prevent a climate catastrophe. 

Friends of the Earth Scotland climate and energy campaigner Caroline Rance said: “Climate science is crystal clear that burning fossil fuels is the key driver of the climate crisis and that there can be no new oil and gas fields anywhere in the world if we’re to limit warming to the 1.5ºC limit. 

“The UK government should immediately stop granting permission for new oil and gas projects, and instead begin a managed phase out of existing fields while ensuring a just transition for affected workers and communities.”