In October 2020, Greenpeace brought a case against the U.K. government for awarding BP Plc a permit to drill for 30 million barrels of oil in the North Sea. Greenpeace is challenging the permit on the grounds that the government allegedly failed (i) its legal duty to assess climate impacts, since it only weighed the effects of emissions from production, and not from the consumption of the oil extracted; (ii) to comply with public consultation requirements; and (iii) to assess how much flaring (the controlled burning of natural gas) would take place as a result of the permit being granted. Greenpeace asked the court to overturn the government’s decision to grant BP a permit for the Vorlich oil field. The lack of access to information throughout the permitting process was previously questioned by Greenpeace in another case. 

The original license for the Vorlich field was granted in 1981, when no obligations or legislation existed to regulate climate impacts. In 2018, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) approved the development of BP’s 200 million-pound ($275 million) Vorlich project, with the consent of the Secretary of State, which carries out the Environmental Statement process, and granted a final permit to extract 30 million barrels of oil. In 2020, the notice of the Secretary of State’s agreement to the consent, and the OGA’s grant of consent in relation to the Vorlich field were published. BP began extraction from Vorlich in November 2020 and expected to extract 20,000 barrels of oil per day at peak production.

A hearing was held in September 2021. According to news reports, the UK government argued during the hearing that the legal duty to consider indirect impacts of oil drilling on climate change (scope 3 emissions) did not extend to the emissions coming from burning oil extracted and that assessing such emissions would be impossible. 

On October 7, 2021 a three judge panel from the Scottish Court of Sessions dismissed the case. The Court confirmed that the matters under consideration, including the issue of consumption emissions, could be considered on the merits by the court despite the previous proceedings. Nonetheless, the Court dismissed the contention that the Secretary of State should have considered the consumption-based emissions associated with the project. The Court argued that there was no duty to consider consumption-based emissions from the project as part of the environmental impact assessment of the project, arguing that the question of whether the development of new oil and gas projects should cease is a political and not a legal one. The Court also dismissed the concerns around failure to comply with public consultation requirements, noting that such failures were technical and unconvincing.

Greenpeace v. United Kingdom

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Greenpeace v. United Kingdom - judgment

Filed

United Kingdom

Scotland

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Greenpeace v. United Kingdom - judgment

Target

Risk

Just transition

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance