First formal assessment of carbon emissions from burning oil: have your say

Our victory in the Supreme Court last June (Finch on behalf of the Weald Action Group v. Surrey County Council) has had far-reaching results for the UK fossil fuel sector.

Within weeks of the Judgment,  the impacts began to be seen at other sites. One of the first was Biscathorpe in Lincolnshire. On 11 July 2024, the government and the oil company, Egdon Resources, conceded a High Court challenge against oil production there. As in the ‘Finch’ case, the carbon emissions from the use of the oil had not been taken into account when planning permission was granted on appeal.

Now the case has gone back to the Planning Inspectorate for redetermination. This will be the first time an application for fossil fuel production will be considered following the landmark Supreme Court judgment.

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Huge win for the climate as Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields are ruled unlawful

The 2024 Supreme Count judgment on the case Weald Action Group’s Horse Hill case is a key factor

Scotland’s Court of Session has today ruled that the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields were approved unlawfully. Consent for their development has been quashed.

In both cases, consent was granted with no assessment of the impact of the greenhouse gas emissions that would arise when the oil and gas to be extracted was eventually burned (known as ‘scope 3’ or ‘downstream’ emissions).

The Supreme Court ruled in June 2024 that these emissions must be taken into account. This was in their judgement on a case brought by campaigner Sarah Finch on behalf of the Weald Action Group concerning an onshore oil site at Horse Hill in Surrey.

Now the Scottish Court of Session has reached the same conclusion on Rosebank and Jackdaw.

Today’s ruling is a huge victory for campaign groups Uplift and Greenpeace UK, which brought the legal challenges, and for the many campaigners who have worked so hard on this vital issue.

If Rosebank’s and Jackdaw’s operators still wish to move ahead with the projects, they must now resubmit environmental statements to the UK government which account for the fields’ full, enormous downstream emissions.

However the UK government is currently consulting on how to assess the scope 3 emissions of new oil and gas projects, and will not approve any new fields until this concludes in spring.

Sarah Finch said, “This is a huge win for the climate. Both the UK Supreme Court and the Scottish Court of Session have now ruled that it’s wrong to permit fossil fuel developments without assessing their full climate impacts – just as we argued all along.”

“The government must now recognise that the fossil fuel era is over. It must stop licensing new oil and gas projects, in the North Sea and onshore, and prioritise investment in energy efficiency, renewables, and a fair transition and green jobs for workers leaving the fossil fuel industry.” 

Alice Owen from the Weald Action Group said, “We are incredibly proud of our successful campaign on Horse Hill, which has turned the tide on UK fossil fuel developments. 

“But we’ll be keeping a close eye on the government as their oil and gas consultation concludes in the Spring. It is so important that this monumental progress towards energy transition is not reversed. Climate crisis is already here, but every fraction of a degree and every barrel of oil still counts.”

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift said: “This is a significant win which means that Rosebank cannot go ahead without accounting for its enormous climate harm.

“The continued burning of oil and gas is why we are seeing more extreme weather like Storm Eowyn and flooding that have claimed lives and caused hundreds of millions of pounds in damage and clean up costs, not to mention the devastation it’s causing in other countries. Most people are now joining the dots with endless oil and gas drilling and are worried about the future.”

“Rosebank is not the answer to energy security, lower bills or jobs. It would simply make obscenely rich oil companies even richer, while increasing the dangers for the rest of us.”

Philip Evans, senior campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: “Fossil fuels are an economic dead end. Now that the ball is back in the government’s court, ministers have the opportunity to sort out the legal mess left by their predecessors. They should use this moment to set out a new path for the North Sea, reaffirming their commitment to no new oil and gas, and prioritising clean energy.”

 

Notes to Editors

The Rosebank oil field and Jackdaw gas field were both approved by the previous government. Greenpeace filed a legal challenge against Jackdaw in July 2022. Uplift and Greenpeace filed separate cases against Rosebank in October 2023. All three cases were paused pending the decision of the UK Supreme Court in the case of Finch v Surrey County Council, then heard together by the Scottish Court of Session in November 2024.

The government withdrew its defence of the legal challenges in light of the Supreme Court judgment on Finch on behalf of the Weald Action Group.

For more on the ‘Finch’ case see our report: Historic win as Supreme Court upholds landmark climate case and the Supreme Court’s website at: https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2022-0064

UCL Researchers Link Surge in Surrey Earthquakes to Oil Drilling

A new study by UCL researchers suggests that oil production at Horse Hill well may have triggered a series of over 100 small earthquakes in Surrey during 2018 and 2019.

Monitoring by seismologists plotted the epicentres between Newdigate and Charlwood, just 3km from the Horse Hill drill site and 8km from Brockham.

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We call for “clarity and consistency” for local authorities over assessment of scope 3 emissions for onshore oil & gas

The UK government is developing new guidance on environmental impact assessments for new offshore oil and gas projects. This is a direct result of our win in the Supreme Court.

Thanks to our campaign on the Horse Hill oil extraction site in Surrey, fossil fuel developers and regulators can no longer ignore the huge climate pollution caused by burning the oil and gas they produce. And that applies equally to the North Sea fields. From now on, when companies apply to develop oil and gas fields, they must include a full assessment of these emissions (called “Scope 3”) in their Environmental Statements, and OPRED (the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning) must take them into account before approving any new drilling. The UK is not approving new offshore oil and gas fields while the new guidance is being developed. 

The government consulted on its draft and the Weald Action Group submitted a response to the consultation.

Sarah Finch, who brought the brought the legal case on Horse Hill, on behalf of the Weald Action Group, also submitted a response.

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We call on Surrey County Council to issue stop notice on sale of oil unlawfully extracted from Horse Hill

Campaigners at the Weald Action Group have written to Surrey County Council asking them to put a stop notice on the sale of any oil produced at the Horse Hill oil site since the Supreme Court quashed planning permission for activities on the site on 20 June 2024.

We requested the council to draft the stop notice in such a way that profits made from the sale of any oil that might be produced in contravention of it could be subject to a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

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Campaigner Sarah Finch named to the TIME100 list of the 100 most influential leaders driving climate action.

Surrey climate campaigner receives international recognition.

Campaigner Sarah Finch outside the Scottish Supreme Court
Sarah Finch outside the Scottish Supreme Court, 12 November 2024

Climate campaigner Sarah Finch, who won a landmark and far-reaching legal victory in the UK Supreme Court earlier this year, has been named by TIME as one of the 100 most innovative leaders driving climate change  [1].

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UKOG suspend operations at Horse Hill

Following widespread outrage at UK Oil & Gas PLC (UKOG) continuing to produce oil at Horse Hill without planning permission, we are pleased that they have now suspended operations.

But we are appalled that it took protests by Extinction Rebellion, news coverage by Drill or Drop, Channel 4 and BBC Surrey, questions from the local MP and the threat of legal action by Friends of the Earth to bring them to this conclusion.

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Call for immediate stop to “brazenly unlawful” oil production at Horse Hill

Press release from Friends of the Earth

Surrey County Council given one week deadline to respond to legal complaint over unlawful oil extraction at Horse Hill

A copy of the letter can be accessed here: friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/urgent-letter-complaint-surrey-county-council

The environmental organisation Friends of the Earth has written to a local authority over oil wells in Surrey that continue to operate, despite the fact its planning permission was quashed in a landmark Supreme Court ruling months ago.

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We ask Surrey County Council about unlawful oil production at Horse Hill

Campaigners celebrate outside the Supreme Court
Campaigners celebrate the historic ruling from the Supreme Court on the Horse Hill case

Planning permission for oil production at Horse Hill was quashed this summer as a result of the legal challenge which Sarah Finch brought on behalf of the Weald Action Group.

The ruling has led to a number of other planning applications being quashed around the UK.

Yet at Horse Hill itself, Horse Hill Developments Ltd (HHDL) continues to produce oil at the site, according to figures submitted by its parent company UK Oil & Gas plc (UKOG) to the industry regulator. Read more on Drill or Drop

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Do UKOG’s plans to store hydrogen in salt caverns in Dorset add up?

UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) PLC, the fossil fuel extraction company that has proved so unsuccessful at Horse Hill, Dunsfold, Broadford Bridge, the Isle of Wight and in Turkey, now wants to create salt caverns beneath the Isle of Portland in Dorset, for hydrogen storage. It is promoting the project through its new subsidiary UK Energy Storage Ltd (UKEn).

Continue reading “Do UKOG’s plans to store hydrogen in salt caverns in Dorset add up?”

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