Plans to drill UK's largest untapped oilfield thwarted in court
Plans to drill UK's largest untapped oilfield thwarted in court
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Plans to develop the UK's largest untapped oilfield have been thwarted in a major climate court case. A Scottish court ruled the previous Conservative government acted "unlawfully" when it green-lit the offshore Rosebank oilfield and smaller Jackdaw gas project.
The judge said the assessment of the projects' climate damage failed to acknowledge the impact of burning the oil and gas, rather than just from getting them out of the ground. The case is a victory for climate campaigners - the latest in a series of fossil fuel projects toppled in a domino effect triggered by a "game-changing" court ruling in June.
But the projects could yet still go ahead. The new Labour administration, elected last July on a mandate to tackle climate change, must now consider the full climate impact of the so-called "downstream" emissions, and make a fresh decision, the court said.
Oil and gas still provide more than two thirds of the UK's energy, although the volumes in Rosebank and Jackdaw would not dramatically lower UK imports. That makes any future decision on them "political", said Dr Ewan Gibbs, energy historian at Glasgow University.
Labour could sign off on them while still sticking to its election promise of "no new licenses" for North Sea projects, as these projects already have licences, but just need final government consent. Campaigners celebrate 'historic win'. Philip Evans, senior campaigner at Greenpeace UK, which brought the Jackdaw case, said: "This is a historic win - the age of governments approving new drilling sites by ignoring their climate impacts is over.".
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