"Ministers will now be forced to justify in front of a judge
why they want to unleash a new drilling frenzy in the North
Sea," said Greenpeace UK climate campaigner Philip Evans.
In a written argument, the defendants' lawyers had said the
government believed "there was an insufficient causal
connection between the extraction of oil and gas and the
downstream emissions arising from its consumption to enable
a meaningful assessment of the environmental effects of the
latter."
A spokesperson for the government did not immediately reply
to a request for comment.
Ahead of Tuesday's decision, a spokesperson pointed to the
importance of energy security, adding that despite significant
investment in renewable and nuclear projects "the transition to
non-fossil forms of energy cannot happen overnight."
(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla Additional reporting by Sam
Tobin
Editing by Mark Potter)
(Adds Greenpeace comment, request for comment to government)
LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) - Greenpeace's legal
challenge against the British government over its invitation to
oil and gas explorers last year to apply for licences in the
North Sea can proceed to a full hearing, a judge at London's
High Court ruled on Tuesday.
Last year, Britain held its first oil and gas exploration
licensing round since 2019, with the government saying it was
looking to boost domestic hydrocarbon output as Europe weans
itself off Russian fuel and after energy prices spiked.
Greenpeace says the government and the oil and gas regulator
NSTA should take into account the emissions from burning the oil
and gas produced as a result of the licensing round, rather than
merely the emissions from the extraction process.
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