BREAKING: Rosebank and Jackdaw gas and oil fields ruled unlawful
Scottish Court of Session has overturned 2023 approval of the sites and blocked any extraction of gas and oil.
This morning, in an historic win for climate campaigners, the proposed Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields have been ruled unlawful by the Scottish Court of Session, quashing the consent for development of both.
The sites at both Jackdaw and Rosebank had been approved by the previous Conservative government (in 2022 and 2023 respectively). In overturning that approval this morning Hon Lord Ericht’s ruling stated that ‘the private interest of members of the public in climate change outweigh the private interest of the developers’.
Lauren MacDonald from the Stop Rosebank campaign said, “It’s not fair that people here are now suffering the impacts of climate change, which is driven by fossil fuels and which will get worse as long as companies are allowed to open huge new drilling sites. The First Minister was right when he said last week, Storm Eowyn is a warning to us that climate change is with us and it is causing colossal damage. He’s also right that we can’t dodge climate action, we’ve got to do it.”
The court has ruled that the government must now consider the full environmental impact of the emissions from the fields, and the owners of the sites must submit new applications on that basis. The court ruled that no oil and gas must be extracted during this period. Campaigners argue that new oil and gas projects are not compatible with the UK’s climate commitments and that the ball is now in the government’s court on the future of the North Sea.
Carla Denyer, co-Leader of the Green Party for England and Wales today told me, “This is a victory not just for the campaigners who have been fighting against new oil drilling at Rosebank and Jackdaw, but for common sense. The science is clear and the stakes are high: there can be no new oil and gas developments if we are to have a chance of staying within safe climate limits.”
The Bristol Central MP continued, “If this government is serious about protecting us from the climate crisis and securing a liveable future for our children, it will revoke Rosebank’s license so that there is absolutely no question of this development going ahead. It must also refuse consent for the 13 other oil and gas drilling projects licensed by the previous government, and send a clear signal to the fossil fuel industry that they have no future in the UK.”
In court, it was argued that, for both Rosebank and Jackdaw, the impact of emissions caused from burning the oil and gas extracted from those fields, otherwise known as downstream emissions, was unlawfully ignored by the oil companies and the previous government. When burnt, the gas from Jackdaw will produce more CO2 than the entire annual emissions of Ghana.
Reacting to the decision in the Scottish court this morning, Labour MP for Nottingham East Nadia Whittome told me, “The sheer scale of emissions these oil fields could unleash is staggering and dangerous for the future of our planet. The previous Conservative government should never have approved these projects and it is vital that our new government commits that they never go ahead.”
After the Supreme Court ruled in June that downstream emissions must be taken into account in future projects, the government accepted the illegality of the permits. Now the Scottish Court of Session has ruled that the sites are unlawful and oil and gas cannot be extracted unless their full climate impacts are properly assessed.
Philip Evans, senior campaigner at Greenpeace UK who filed one of the cases against the sites considered jointly by the court, said “This is a historic win - the age of governments approving new drilling sites by ignoring their climate impacts is over. The courts have agreed with what climate campaigners have said all along: Rosebank and Jackdaw are unlawful, and their full climate impacts must now be properly considered.
“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.”
Rosebank, 80 miles north-west of Shetland, contains around 500 million barrels of oil, which when burned would emit as much carbon dioxide as running 56 coal-fired power stations for a year. The UK public will carry almost all (91%) the cost of developing the field, with Rosebank’s owners (Equinor) set to receive around £3 billion in tax breaks.
In 2022, following the Conservative government’s budget the Stop Rosebank campaign pointed out that Shell, who owns Jackdaw, would receive over £210 million in tax breaks. This morning, Shell posted annual profits of £23.7 billion last year.
There are many that have suggested we need new oil and gas fields in the North Sea to cut astronomical energy and fuel bills. The project, however, won’t cut household energy bills: Rosebank’s oil will be sold on the world market and most will be exported, and UK oil and gas production does not make a material difference to the price UK consumers pay.
Labour had previously stated that they would block any new oil and gas projects. They dropped their part of the legal defence against this in court with the Times reporting last summer that the government was planning to ‘let the Rosebank oil field die in court’.
Last year, the newly minted Labour government did the same in the legal challenge surrounding Whitehaven Coal Mine in Cumbria. As I reported at the time, though they had dropped the legal defence and accepted the decision to give permission was made unlawfully, neither Department of Energy or the Department of Housing would confirm whether or not they would be issuing licences to the mine after a new consultation.
Campaigners I spoke to are worried after the noises the Labour government have made in the last few days. After tanking the Climate and Nature bill last week, yesterday Chancellor Rachel Reeve’s announced in a speech that the government would support a third runway at Heathrow airport.
Like new oil and gas fields in the North Sea, climate campaigners have warned that the expansion of Heathrow will lead to devastating amounts of emissions. Building a third runway at Heathrow would increase emissions by approximately Uganda's entire carbon footprint.
Reacting to the chancellor's speech, Rosie Downes, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth, said: “Giving the go-ahead to airport expansion by depending on new, unreliable technologies, like 'sustainable aviation fuels’ would be a reckless gamble with our future and risks the UK missing critical climate reduction targets even if we rapidly expand renewable energy.
“Similarly, allowing developers to bulldoze their way through crucial nature protections and safeguards will further diminish our seriously under-threat wildlife and natural environment.
"Sacrificing nature and our climate isn’t leadership, it’s rash, short-sighted and a sure-fire way to lose the trust of those who believed Labour's election promises on the environment. Instead the Chancellor must embrace green growth."
London Mayor Sadiq Khan immediately stated that any expansion of the airport would dramatically impact London’s clean air and did not rule out a legal challenge. In a landmark ruling in 2020 an inquest ruled that the 2013 death of 9 year old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah was the result of air pollution in London.
Whilst the ruling on the Scottish gas and oil fields is not binding on English courts, it remains ‘persuasive precedent’. Even more so given it comes after a Supreme Court ruling on the matter of inclusion of downstream emissions (which is binding) last year.
Whilst Rosebank and Jackdaw are almost certainly dead, the question remains what this judgment (and the Supreme Court judgment last year) means for future projects? Whether, as Denyer stated, and Labour have previously committed too, the 13 other oil and gas sites up for development will now be canned. It is clear which way the legal wind is blowing here. That it seems to be in the opposite way to the Labour government’s direction of travel means it’s worth keeping a keen eye on this area.
I will of course bring you any other developments as and when they come.
