A GROUP of Christians have made a 21st-century return to the tradition of Norway’s supplying the Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square. Members of Christian Climate Action (CCA) have delivered a dead tree to the Norwegian embassy, to highlight the harm being caused by Norwegian oil drilling in the North Atlantic.

The oil giant Equinor, a company majority owned by the Norwegian government, intends to start drilling the Rosebank oil field, despite objections from climate scientists, campaigners, and people living in parts of the global South vulnerable to climate change (News, 4 October).

In a letter to the Norwegian ambassador, delivered along with the tree, CCA members, wrote: “The CO2 emissions from this one oil field could equate to the annual emissions of the 28 lowest-income countries combined, which are home to more than 700 million people. This is a gift that will only lead to more death and destruction to the planet.”

The UK government has stopped issuing licenses for new oil and gas fields, but Rosebank was given the go-ahead under Rishi Sunak’s administration.

Christian Climate ActionAn official takes delivery of the “dead tree”, at the Norwegian embassy, on Wednesday

A Baptist minister from Oxford who helped to deliver the tree, the Revd James Grote, said: “Fossil fuels are killing our planet, people, wildlife, and land. That’s what this dead tree represents, and we are giving it to the Norwegian embassy on the day before their gift of a tree in Trafalgar Square is lit up. That tree is given to thank the UK for its help during the dark days of the Second World War.

“It’s a wonderful gift that brings joy to millions, but the Christmas story is not all about fairy lights, trees, and presents. It’s about God coming in a baby born in a shed to a soon-to-be-refugee family who are miles from home. It’s about facing the darkness and seeing that light and hope can come in.

“We face a real and present darkness in the climate emergency, that we’ve seen first hand in Storm Bert. The Norwegian government and Equinor stopping Rosebank would bring real light and hope.”

The annual gift of the Trafalgar Square tree from Norway goes back to 1947, in recognition of British support during the Second World War.