UK Supreme Court asked to weigh future pollution at new oil project
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Environmental activists want the Supreme Court to block drilling for oil at a new site in the south of England.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Britain’s top court was asked whether the future impact of harmful emissions from extracting oil should be taken into account before permits are issued – in a case that could have far-reaching implications for new fossil fuel developments in the country.
Environmental activists want the Supreme Court to block drilling for oil at a new site in the south of England, arguing that the local authority did not properly asses how the eventual burning of the fuel in vehicles and factories will speed up climate change. UK Oil & Gas is the main investor at the Horse Hill field project. At the Court of Appeal, the decision split a panel of three judges.
If successful, the decision could set a precedent, making it harder to get any new fossil fuel development in Britain approved, according to non-governmental organisations supporting the case. The case also highlights the tension between the pressing need to drastically cut pollution and the drive to support energy independence, reducing the need to rely on imports.
It is for the governments and local authorities to strike a balance between how energy security and economic productivity can be promoted “as much as possible consistently with the UK’s legal obligations to reduce carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050”, British government lawyers said in documents prepared for the Wednesday hearing.
Allowing the project was a “victory for law and common sense” and the production at Horse Hill was done ensuring the smallest carbon footprint, the company’s chief executive previously said. The company’s lawyers will defend the project and “lawful production continues at the Horse Hill site”, UK Oil & Gas said.
The Horse Hill discovery has been mired in controversy since it was announced in 2015. While most of the country’s oil and gas resources are offshore, the field lies in densely populated area.
As of December, more than 162,000 barrels of Brent quality crude was produced from the project, according to the company’s website. BLOOMBERG
