Cambo oil field has hit the headlines in recent days, but what exactly is it? 

Nicola Sturgeon is among politicians asking Boris Johnson to reassess plans regarding the oil field in light of the climate crisis we face.

It comes as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a report earlier this week declaring a "code red for humanity" as global warming looks set to soar in coming years. 

You might wonder what this has to do with Cambo oil field, so here's everything you need to know about the plans and why they are causing such an uproar. 

What is Cambo oil field?

Cambo oil field is a planned oil field development off the coast of Shetland. 

Oil giants Shell and Siccar Point Energy have sought permission from the UK Government to open the field, where they want to drill for over 150 million barrels of oil. 

The companies goal is to keep drilling until 2050 to access 800 million barrels of oil. 

Despite being off the coast of Scotland, Westminster will have the final say on the matter because energy (which includes oil) is not a devolved power. 

Why are the plans causing problems?

Drilling for oil produces huge amounts of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming and therefore climate change. 

Governments around the world have previously committed to keeping the rise is global temperature below 1.5 degrees, however the IPCC report warned that failure to limit CO2 emissions would mean this target was missed. 

Campaigners say that plans to develop Cambo oil field would have "devastating" impact on climate change and that countries must prevent all new oil and coal developments. 

Now Nicola Sturgeon has written a letter to Boris Johnson, urging him to "reassess" the Cambo oil field plans. 

Following the publication of the IPCC report on Monday, the Prime Minister tweeted: "The IPCC report couldn’t be clearer: humans are causing potentially catastrophic climate change. The world must act together at COP26 to avoid incalculable damage in the future."

What did Nicola Sturgeon say in her letter? 

In her letter to Boris Johnson, Nicola Sturgeon wrote: "We are both well aware of the importance of oil and gas over many decades – not least in terms of jobs – to the Scottish and UK economies.

"We also understand that reducing reliance on domestic production of oil and gas, which we must do, without increasing imports – which would potentially increase emissions – depends on the development of alternatives.

"However, the answer to these challenges – given the urgency of the climate emergency – cannot be business as usual. Instead, we must take decisions and make investments now to support – and accelerate -the development of these alternatives and thereby secure a just, but appropriately rapid, transition for the oil and gas industry, and the workers and communities currently reliant on it.

"Indeed, I am asking that the UK Government now commits to significantly enhancing the climate conditionality associated with offshore oil and gas production.

"Additionally, however, I am also asking that the UK Government agrees to reassess licences already issued but where field development has not yet commenced.

"That would include the proposed Cambo development.

"Such licences, some of them issued many years ago, should be reassessed in light of the severity of the climate emergency we now face, and against a compatibility checkpoint that is fully aligned with our climate change targets and obligations."