Greenpeace and Uplift are likely to halt development of Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields1 in the UK North Sea. Rosebank is the UK’s largest untapped oilfield. Greenpeace and Uplift have brought a judicial review to Scotland’s Court of Session. This follows success in the case by Sarah Finch of the Weald Action Group before the UK Supreme Court, which stopped expansion of oil production in Surrey, England.
Protest against Rosebank oilfield, courtesy of Uplift
The present UK Government has now said that it will not oppose Greenpeace and Uplift in this Scottish judicial review. It also did not oppose climate activists in their case before the English High Court to stop a new coalmine in Cumbria. This is an abrupt change from the previous UK Government that approved all three of these fossil fuel developments, namely Rosebank and Jackdaw, the coalmine and Surrey oil production.
It seems very likely that both the Scottish Court of Session and the English High Court will now follow the law handed down by UK Supreme Court. That decision, by the UK’s ultimate court of appeal, held that approval should have assessed “the effect on climate of the combustion of the oil to be produced”2.
Rosebank, Jackdaw and the Cumbrian coalmine would then each need fresh approval. That approval would go against advice of the Climate Change Committee that “expansion of fossil fuel production is not in line with Net Zero”3. It would look strange now that the Government has not objected to the activists’ argument. It would also contradict the UK Supreme Court’s ruling that the approval should consider emissions from burning the fossil fuels.
The result may be to stop these fossil fuel developments, and indeed to stop all future expansion of UK fossil fuel production.
Perhaps Sarah Finch’s legal success at the UK’s Supreme Court will also influence fossil fuel law in some other countries, that are still expanding their production. That would extend her success internationally, helping the World towards reaching net zero emissions by 20504
Recoverable oil from Rosebank is estimated by Equinor as 300 million barrels, or nearly 500 million barrels as estimated by StopRosebank. Recoverable oil and gas from Jackdaw is estimated to be equivalent to 200 million barrels of oil.
UK Supreme Court judgement in Finch v Surrey County Council, paragraph 174.
COP 28 agreement by nations in December 2023, paragraph 27, recognized requirement to reach net zero global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Thank you, Dermot - looks like good news!