Rosebank in court

Just as world leaders gather in Azerbaijan for COP29, and the UK jostles to restore its reputation as a climate leader, Uplift – together with Greenpeace – will appear in the Court of session in Edinburgh to bring forward their legal challenges against Rosebank – the largest untapped oil field in the UK. 

Rosebank has drawn widespread opposition ever since its majority owner, the Norwegian state-backed oil company Equinor, submitted the environmental statement for approval in 2022.

The climate implications of Rosebank are serious. When burned, Rosebank’s oil and gas would produce over 200 million tonnes of CO2, which is more than the 700 million people in the world’s poorest countries do in a year. In addition to being a disaster for the climate, it will also do nothing to reduce energy bills or boost energy security since it is mostly oil for export.

Last night, on the eve of the hearing, Stop Rosebank held a public panel, moderated by comedian Frankie Boyle at Edinburgh’s Playfair Library, to discuss the case against Rosebank and its international significance, as well as the public opposition to new drilling, the mounting costs of climate change, and how to ensure a fair transition for Scotland’s oil and gas workers.

This morning, before the proceedings began, a rally attended by nearly 200 campaigners from Scotland and around the UK took place outside the Court of Session in support of stopping Rosebank.  

The Case 

The cases against Rosebank argue that the decisions by the former Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and the regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) are unlawful because: 

• The government failed to consider combustion emissions caused by burning Rosebank’s oil and gas when assessing its environmental impact.
• The NSTA failed to give any reasons at all, let alone any rational ones, for its decision to grant consent to the development. The cases challenge the complete lack of transparency from the NSTA, which leaves the public in the dark about the reasons for its decision. 
• The previous government and the regulator failed to adequately assess the marine impacts of Rosebank, including a failure to demonstrate compliance with their duties under Scotland’s National Marine Plan.

The argument that the government failed to assess Rosebank’s combustion emissions has been strengthened thanks to a historic ruling by the Supreme Court in the case of Finch vs Surrey County Council, which requires decision-makers to consider the impact of scope 3 emissions in the Environmental Impact Assessment for new projects. This means they need to assess the impact of not just the emissions created from producing oil and gas but the emissions that will inevitably result from burning it. 

The previous government approved Rosebank despite warnings from climate scientists, and opposition from hundreds of grassroots groups and climate NGOs, and marine conservation organisations. The new government, elected with more progressive climate policies, has since conceded that its approval was unlawful. Despite this, the field’s fossil fuel owners – Equinor and Ithaca Energy – have entered the case as interested parties and will do everything they can to bring the oil field into production. 

If the court case is successful, the government will have the chance to remake the decision. 

This would be a huge step for the fight against climate change and could set a powerful precedent when it comes to blocking new oil and gas projects across the UK and beyond.

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