Legal challenges by Greenpeace and Uplift have been allowed against regulators of the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea.
Judicial reviews by both are bringing the regulators, including the North Seas Transition Authority (NSTA), to court on 12 November.
If they are successful, environmental assessments for the field would have to be resubmitted for approval before operations can begin.
Greenpeace’s co-executive director, Areeba Hamid, alleges that the development of Rosebank was based on a “false claim”.
“The government used a rigged climate assessment to approve its development, deliberately ignoring all of the emissions that will come from burning the 500 million barrels of oil it contains.”
The move to challenge Rosebank comes after a precedent set by the Supreme Court in June that a UK council should have weighed climate impacts of burning oil in new wells.
This allowed the reviews to be submitted by Greenpeace and Uplift, which places owners Equinor and Ithaca Energy at a standstill for beginning drilling at the field.
University of Edinburgh Carbon Capture and Storage Professor Stuart Haszeldine told Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage (SCCS) in 2023 that Rosebank “is entirely for the purpose of fossil fuel production.”
“This makes no progress towards phaseout of fossil fuels, and makes no progress towards decreased carbon emissions.”
“This is a UK and Norwegian contribution which adds to runaway global heating.”
Now, with the environmental impacts to be assessed, activists are hoping to see a change in how the government spotlights environmental security.”
One student activist told The Student that the go-ahead is a “great move for both the government and the environment.
“To see a situation where politics prioritises the environment over profits is rare, but the way in the right direction.”
“To them it’s about the economy and making more money, which is valuable, but you have to take into consideration the scope of the environmental issues.”
Rosebank oil majority owner Equinor told The BBC that it was continuing to “work closely with all relevant parties to progress the project”.
Image via Molly Rian Beairsto