Greenpeace in High Court to challenge the Government on new oil and gas licences

Today (Tuesday) Greenpeace is in the High Court to challenge the UK Government’s reckless decision to greenlight a new licensing oil and gas round, with fossil fuel companies submitting more than 100 licences to explore for new oil and gas. The oral hearing today is a permissions hearing for Judicial Review on this decision.

This comes one month after stark warnings from the IPCC and UN Secretary General which yet again restated that there must be no new fossil fuel development if the world is to limit warming to 1.5C, outlining that current approved projects are already enough to take us beyond that point.

Greenpeace is challenging the Government on the basis that it has botched the decision making process, carried out by Jacob Rees Mogg in the first days of the Truss administration, and failed to properly assess the climate impact of this new oil and gas licensing round. None of the Government’s tests look at emissions created from burning fossil fuels, despite the fact that this will amount to more than 80% of the total emissions generated from the new licences. The Government is also expected to imminently approve the permit for Rosebank oilfield, the biggest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea, so vast that it would blow the UK’s carbon budget.

New oil and gas will do nothing to help our energy security, as the oil and gas belongs to the companies extracting it who will sell it at the prevailing price on the international market. Campaigners argue that only prioritising renewables, upgrading the grid, and stopping energy waste from our homes can achieve this.

Legal experts have described the North Sea as the world’s “highest risk” area for oil and gas legal disputes. By focussing on old fashioned and dirty fossil fuels the UK government is also falling dangerously far behind other countries on their commitment to green growth investments, only committing to £20bn over 20 years compared to landmark programmes and billions committed to by the US with the Inflation Reduction Act, and other significant investments from the EU and China.

Philip Evans, Greenpeace UK’s climate campaigner, said:

“We’ve had warning after warning that there must be no new oil, and now time is running out. Yet the Government continues to ignore the experts, approving new oil and gas without even bothering to check the full climate impact. That’s why we’re challenging them in the High Court today. If Grant Shapps disagrees with the IPCC assessment, the IEA, and warnings from the UN Chief we’d love to hear his rationale.

“Relying on fossil fuels is disastrous for our energy security, the cost of living, and the climate. So why is the Government hell bent on approving new licences? It begs the question of whose interests they really serve.

“The Government must instead properly tax fossil fuel companies and use the money to upgrade our old fashioned electricity grid, invest in cheap home grown renewables and lift planning blocks that hold them back, and invest in stopping energy waste from our homes. This is the only way we can tackle the scandal of the cost of living, guarantee our energy security, and help the climate.”