Mayor's Question Time, London Assembly

Zack Polanski, Leader, Green Party of England and Wales; London Assembly Member

Official record: Greater London Authority: London Assembly minutes (transcript appendix). Retrieved 2 Oct 2026.

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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued an advisory opinion that States can find each other accountable for their actions on climate change. How will you remind fossil fuel companies based in London of this legal liability, and remind them of the shared global responsibility to tackle the climate crisis?

Thank you very much, and also thank you to everyone involved with [London] Climate Action Week as well. It is always good to hear the political consensus, at least between us, is clear here, especially after some of the party conferences we heard this weekend.

Fossil fuel finance has a big home currently in London. You named some of them, BP, Shell, Reliance. This is both bad for the planet, for all the reasons you have said, and it is also bad for our finance system in terms of it is built on a house of cards. We have got a Government that is facing pressure from fossil fuel firms to grant new licences for oil exploration. That is the Government’s responsibility. In terms of your responsibility, what expectations are you putting on London corporates in terms of what you want to see them doing around fossil fuels?

Thank you. You said no new oil and gas from the Government, and you have chosen your wording carefully, because obviously there is Rosebank Oil Field. Do you have an opinion on that?

We are mostly in agreement. I do think it is extraordinary, though, to say that we would lose jobs if we do not take the Rosebank Oil Field. These jobs already, you have mentioned, retrofitting, insulating homes, all the just transition jobs. We do not need the Rosebank Oil Field for London jobs.

It is problematic, though, is it not, to sign a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, which I totally support, and your role as an international envoy, but then not be able to say to the Government that you are the Mayor of that party, “No, we should not be extracting new oil and gas at Rosebank Oil Field”.

I do not know if they are clear, because I am genuinely a little bit confused.

Does that include Rosebank?

So, it does include Rosebank?

Thank you. Thanks, Chair. I note the Mayor nodded when I said Rosebank Oil Field as well, just for the record. Thank you very much.