CLIMATE campaigners celebrated today after the government said it would not defend the decision to green-light the development of two oil and gas fields in the North Sea.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) granted consent in 2023 for Equinor and Ithaca Energy to begin developing the Rosebank oil field in 2023 and in 2022 for Shell to develop the Jackdaw gas field.

Greenpeace and Uplift have mounted judicial reviews in the Scottish courts, arguing that the authority’s consideration of environmental impact assessments had unlawfully failed to take into account the emissions produced by the burning of fuels sold to another country. 

The NTSA claimed that it had taken “net-zero considerations into account throughout the project’s life cycle,” but the government definition of net zero only includes the emissions generated by the machinery used to extract the oil.

The government concession follows a landmark Supreme Court ruling in July that regulators must consider the impact of burning oil and gas when carrying environmental impact assessments for new projects.

Ministers said that, in light of the ruling, they were consulting on the implementation of Labour’s manifesto promise not to issue new oil and gas licences.

The decision does not mean the licences for Jackdaw and Rosebank have been withdrawn, but if the judicial review were to back the environmental groups, the operators would need to resubmit environmental assessments, leading to further delays and additional costs for the companies.

Both Equinor and Shell said they would carefully consider the implications of the government’s announcement.

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said the oil and gas industry “will play an important role in the economy for decades to come.

“As we support the North Sea’s clean energy future, this government is committed to protecting current and future generations of good jobs as we do so.”

In Edinburgh, acting Cabinet Secretary for Energy Gillian Martin said the Scottish government supported a “just transition” for Scotland’s valued oil and gas sector that recognised the “declining nature of the North Sea basin.”

Uplift executive director Tessa Khan said:  “It is astonishing that the massive emissions from burning oil and gas have been overlooked by decision-makers till now.

“This government is right not to waste time and money trying to defend the indefensible.”

Greenpeace UK climate team leader Mel Evans said it was “absolutely the right decision… The only real winners from giving them the green light would be multibillion-pound oil giants.”