Court rules consent to drill Rosebank oil field was approved unlawfully, thanks to a judicial review case brought by UK NGOs Uplift and Greenpeace

Climate campaigners have successfully urged a Scottish court to invalidate a consent to drill the UK’s largest untapped oilfield, a judgement that prevents a ‘carbon bomb’ that could undermine meeting the UK’s climate targets.

Greenpeace and Uplift claimed the previous government had unlawfully granted the Norwegian oil company Equinor a licensing consent to develop the Rosebank oilfield, located 80 miles (130km) northwest of Shetland and containing nearly 500 million barrels of oil and gas.

The judge Lord Ericht agreed climate impact caused by emissions which would have been released when the fossil fuels were eventually burned, should have been considered when granting the approval, not just the impact of emissions caused by the process of extracting oil and gas.

In response to the judgment, ClientEarth Lawyer Robert Clarke said:

“Today’s ruling is part of a clear trend we’re seeing from courts in the UK - marking the third time in the last year that judges have found that ‘downstream’ emissions must be considered in planning decisions. [1]

“This is a resounding signal from the courtroom that companies and governments can no longer turn a blind eye to the vast majority of the emissions their coal, oil and gas fields create.

“This should be a further warning sign for fossil fuel production in the UK on the back of the Government’s decision to rule out granting any new oil and gas licences in the North Sea.

“Any institutional investor, asset manager or lender backing new fossil fuel projects in the UK is now gambling on a high-risk strategy for its clients with financial prospects seriously in doubt.

“New fossil fuel projects in the UK have never been a riskier investment – and financial institutions both at home and abroad must take that into account when it comes to their portfolios.”