Legal challenge to government's support for North Sea fossil fuel extraction given go-ahead
A view of part of the BP Etap platform (Eastern Trough Area Project) in the North Sea, around 100 miles east of Aberdeen, Scotland, in February 2014
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THE High Court has given the go-ahead for a legal challenge to government support for North Sea oil and gas — a case that could spell the end for production that relies on generous public subsidies.
Environmental campaigners are seeking a declaration from the court that the state-owned Oil and Gas Authority’s (OGA) new strategy is unlawful because it encourages uneconomic production and conflicts with Britain’s legal duty to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
A High Court order this week found that claimants had “presented an arguable case … in the public interest” and that the claim has sufficient merit to proceed.
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