// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
PM faces pressure as Jackdaw licence consultation closes
The Jackdaw field is owned by Adura - a joint venture by energy giants Shell and Equinor
The prime minister faces pressure over North Sea oil and gas as a decision on allowing new drilling moves closer.
A consultation on Jackdaw, a gas field 150 miles east of Aberdeen, will close later, while a consultation on the Rosebank oil field, north-west of Shetland, closes next Monday.
Environmental groups have urged Andy Burnham to refuse permission for oil and gas production in Jackdaw and Rosebank as part of the fight against climate change.
But the oil and gas industry, opposition politicians and US President Donald Trump have called for him to grant permission, arguing this would protect jobs and cut bills.
Burnham's party is also split on the issue, while watering down environmental commitments could limit Labour's ability to tempt back voters that have switched to the Greens since 2024.
Production at both Jackdaw and Rosebank was approved by the Conservatives, but a court quashed those decisions last year after a challenge from Greenpeace, leaving the Labour government to decide whether to go ahead.
The end of the consultations has brought renewed focus on the prime minister's dilemma.
Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland, said there was "a clear choice to be made by our politicians: further fuel climate chaos, or support a fair transition to a safer future".
Pointing to "a summer of extreme heat and devastating wildfires", including near Aberdeen, Banks said it would be "irresponsible to approve new oil and gas developments that would accelerate climate change and do nothing to lower the energy bills of UK households".