Rosebank oilfield decision ruled unlawful by Edinburgh court
Rosebank oilfield decision ruled unlawful by Edinburgh court
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Court of session says UK government go-ahead for Rosebank and Jackdaw permits does not take into account carbon emissions. The decision to greenlight a giant new oilfield off Shetland has been ruled unlawful by the courts in a major win for environmental campaigners.
![[Climate activists demonstrate: young women hold up a large pink and red banner with Stop Rosebank spelled out in fabric roses]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/00ef6d8b6c130ed24deafea794ca2d0568a827c3/0_278_5472_3283/master/5472.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The proposed Rosebank development – the UK’s biggest untapped oilfield – had been given the go-ahead in 2023 under the previous government. But on Thursday the court of session in Edinburgh sided with campaigners and climate experts in ruling that the original decisions to permit Rosebank and a second, smaller, gas field called Jackdaw were unlawful, as they had not taken into account the carbon emissions created by burning any oil and gas produced.
Tessa Khan, from the campaign group Uplift which has been at the forefront of the campaign to stop Rosebank, said the court ruling was a significant milestone. “This … means that Rosebank cannot go ahead without accounting for its enormous climate harm,” she said.
Philip Evans, from Greenpeace, which with Uplift challenged Rosebank and separately challenged Jackdaw, described the judgment as “a historic win”. “The age of governments approving new drilling sites by ignoring their climate impacts is over,” he said. “The courts have agreed with what climate campaigners have said all along: Rosebank and Jackdaw are unlawful, and their full climate impacts must now be properly considered.”.
