Previously, local council and planning groups in Britain had to weigh only the planet-warming emissions from their own operations.
Britain’s highest court has ruled that local councils and planning groups must consider the full environmental impact of new fossil fuel projects when deciding whether to approve them, a decision that could have far-reaching consequences and that climate activists hailed as a major victory.
In particular, the ruling will make it harder for Britain to move ahead with plans to develop large offshore oil fields in the North Sea, including Rosebank, one of the country’s largest undeveloped oil fields. Situated off the coast of Scotland, Rosebank contains an estimated 300 million barrels of recoverable oil.
“This is hugely significant, not just in the U.K. but in the world,” Annalisa Savaresi, a professor in climate change law at the University of Stirling in Scotland, said of the ruling, which Britain’s Supreme Court handed down on Thursday. “It’s not the end of oil, but it’s definitely an important procedural step that has been long overdue.”
Previously, councils and planning groups in Britain were obligated to consider only the planet-warming emissions from their own operations. Now, they will also be required to estimate and disclose the emissions produced by their suppliers or consumers, such as from oil being refined or burned as fuel. Those emissions, produced along what’s known as a company’s “value chain,” make up the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions related to oil production.
