Communities fighting onshore oil and gas
We have won an important change that will make it easier for planners in Hampshire to make good decisions on oil and gas development applications.
Continue reading “Win in Hampshire: misleading wording removed from Minerals & Waste Plan”
The Weald Action Group is starting the new year by launching legal action over the UK’s failure to properly regulate methane emissions from onshore oil and gas sites.
Happy New Year!
2025 was quite a year for the Weald Action Group. We saw continuing impacts of our 2024 Supreme Court win, and renewed debate on the topic of fracking. We also laid the foundations of a new campaign on methane.
The year saw some positive developments – including a landmark opinion on climate change from the International Court of Justice (see below) and a commitment by the UK government to end new oil and gas licensing, both on and offshore. However it also saw the intensification of climate impacts around the world, from fires and floods to the failure of farming systems. In October, scientists warned that the Earth had reached the first catastrophic climate tipping point, with coral reefs facing ‘widespread dieback’, and is ‘on the brink’ of reaching other tipping points, including the dieback of the Amazon, the collapse of major ocean currents and the loss of ice sheets. This underlines the extreme urgency of stopping producing and burning fossil fuels – the root cause of human-made global warming.
Here we look back at some highlights from our campaigning year – and send thanks to everyone who has been part of it.
We have submitted a damning response to the government consultation on the revised Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Rosebank oil field, a reassessment triggered when the Scottish courts ruled the previous approval unlawful. This was a direct consequence of our 2024 Supreme Court win (Finch v Surrey County Council), which established that downstream “scope 3” emissions must be fully assessed for fossil fuel developments.
Continue reading “Weald Action Group response to the consultation on Rosebank”
Press release from the UK Methane Campaign
The UK Methane Campaign welcomes the release of the UK’s Methane Action Plan as a long-awaited and important step toward tackling a major driver of global warming. We are pleased to see the government reaffirming its commitment to reduce methane emissions and continue to play a stronger international role in encouraging other countries to follow suit.
While this marks progress, the Methane Action Plan does not go far enough. Efforts have been focused on offshore production, but it’s crucial that the onshore oil and gas sector is not left behind. Methane emissions from onshore remain a significant source of climate pollution, and ensuring that forthcoming regulations apply equally across both onshore and offshore activities will be essential if the UK is to truly lead on methane action.
Continue reading “UK Methane Campaign response to UK’s Methane Action Plan”
The UK Methane Campaign is inviting organisations to sign a letter to Secretary of State Ed Miliband, urging the UK to lead with strong, enforceable methane regulations ahead of COP30.
Continue reading “Add Your Voice: Urgent Call for Strong Methane Regulations”
One year ago today we won a landmark climate victory in the Supreme Court.
The case, which campaigner Sarah Finch brought on behalf of the Weald Action Group, concerned planning permission that Surrey County Council had granted for a small oil site at Horse Hill in Surrey.
Continue reading “One year on: reflections on our landmark legal victory”
Following our Supreme Court win last year, the government has been forced to rethink its approach to consenting new oil and gas developments in the North Sea.
Today they issued new guidance for oil and gas companies which means that when seeking consent for new developments, they must now reveal the amount of CO2 that will be released from burning the oil and gas they plan to extract.
The Weald Action Group responded to the government’s recent consultation on widespread policy changes that will determine the future of energy production in the North Sea.
While primarily about the North Sea, the consultation also covered onshore oil and gas production too. (The onshore part relates to England only, unlike the rest of the consultation.)
Continue reading “The future of energy production in the North Sea and beyond: our response”
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.
Continue reading “First formal assessment of carbon emissions from burning oil: have your say”