Greenpeace and Uplift are in the High Court in a legal battle over the government's decision to greenlight a new oil and gas licensing round, which could see up to 130 exploration licences handed out. Uplift and Greenpeace are challenging the Government on the basis that it has failed to properly assess the climate impact of this new oil and gas licensing round, and failed to properly consider reasonable alternatives.
London: Greenpeace UK and climate campaigner Uplift filed separate legal challenges in Scotland seeking to rescind government approval for the Rosebank oil development in the North Sea.
Equinor ASA and partner Ithaca Energy Plc said they would make a final investment decision to develop the field after receiving the go-ahead in September. That approval came amid Conservative government efforts to bolster drilling of oil and gas in the declining basin.
Greenpeace and Uplift asked the Court of Session in Edinburgh for a judicial review, saying the consent is incompatible with Britain’s own net-zero plans. The development, which lies in deep waters off the Shetland Islands, isn’t due to start pumping oil and gas until at least 2026.
Intended daily production of 70,000 barrels of oil and 21 million cubic feet of gas, planned for 2027, would make it one of the largest fields in Britain – but a minnow in a world where daily demand exceeds 100 million barrels.
Rosebank has become a battleground for environmental groups in Britain, with placards reading “Stop Equinor” and “Stop Rosebank” visible at anti-fossil fuel protests throughout the country. Uplift says burning the field’s oil and gas would produce 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Last month, a protester disrupted a panel that included an Equinor executive and called the field a “carbon bomb”. Scrutiny is likely to increase against the backdrop of the historic deal at the COP28 climate talks in Dubai that committed nations to transition away from all fossil fuels.
Equinor and Ithaca Energy are set to invest US$3.8bil in the project, but Greenpeace and Uplift said the public will foot about 90% of the total development costs because of tax breaks. — Bloomberg
