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Greenpeace has raised the prospect of a fresh legal challenge to two planned UK oil and gasfields after the government signalled support for the projects, despite a court revoking their consent because of their potential climate impact.
The campaign group has warned the energy department that public comments by the prime minister and the chancellor could be seen as prejudging any fresh application for consent for the Rosebank and Jackdaw projects, leaving any new decision vulnerable to legal challenge.
In a letter seen by the Financial Times, it noted that the minister deciding any application must “not have a closed mind or appearance of a closed mind” and “be open to persuasion that the projects should not proceed” including due to the impact of their emissions.
The letter highlights the fraught situation facing the government as it tries to move away from fossil fuels while maintaining some investment in the North Sea. In its election manifesto last year, the Labour party said it would not revoke existing oil and gas licences but would not issue new ones for exploration.
Rosebank, being developed by Norway’s Equinor and the UK’s Ithaca Energy, is the UK’s largest undeveloped oil reserve, thought to contain around 500mn barrels of oil. Jackdaw’s developer, Shell, says it could produce about 6 per cent of the North Sea’s gas output.
Both projects have been awarded licences and had also been granted consent by the UK’s North Sea regulator. But following legal challenges from Greenpeace and Uplift, Scotland’s top civil court in January ruled the consents would need to be reconsidered to take into account carbon dioxide emitted when the oil and gas is used.
Lord Ericht’s ruling in the Court of Session came in the wake of the landmark Finch ruling in June 2024, when the UK’s Supreme Court ruled that these so-called Scope 3 emissions needed to be taken into account when granting planning permission.
Rosebank and Jackdaw developers will need to apply again for consent if they want the projects to go ahead, and authorities would need to consider this in line with the courts’ ruling. They have not yet reapplied, as they await new planning guidance from the government, but are expected to do so.
However, in an interview with the Sun on Sunday last month Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, appeared to support the projects. “We said in our manifesto that they would go ahead, that we would honour existing licences, and we’re committed to doing that, and go ahead they will,” she said.
The court’s ruling deals only with consents, not licences, which both projects still have. Both are needed for the projects to go ahead.
In other comments also highlighted by Greenpeace, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told reporters: “I can’t pre-empt the decision but you know we did say that where licences have already been granted we wouldn’t interfere with them.”
Meanwhile, the Financial Times quoted a government ally” in February as saying “the new applications will have to pass the new regime but our position on existing fields is very clear: we support them”.
In the letter sent by its legal department, Greenpeace said the chancellor’s comments in particular “point towards unlawful predetermination, or at least the appearance of unlawful predetermination on the part of the Secretary of State”.
It has asked the government for all correspondence relating to the projects since January 1 and says its “position is in the meantime fully reserved”.
A spokesman for Equinor said the Rosebank project was “critical to the UK’s economic growth” and it “continued to work closely” with regulators and the business department to progress the project. Shell and the North Sea Transition Authority regulator declined to comment.
A government spokesperson said: “We cannot comment on individual projects, nor can we prejudice future decision-making.
“We have already consulted on guidance so we can provide certainty for industry, support our environmental goals, protect jobs and deliver economic growth.
“We will respond to this consultation as soon as possible and developers will be able to apply for consents under this revised regime.”
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