Scottish Court of Session rules Rosebank oil field approval unlawful

Article summary

In a case brought by Uplift and Greenpeace UK, the Scottish Court of Session has ruled that the 2023 approval of the Rosebank oil field located off the Shetland coast in the North Atlantic, was unlawful, as it failed to account for emissions from burning the field's oil. The court has suspended its reduction order pending a new decision, allowing preparatory work to continue but prohibiting oil and gas extraction. If Rosebank’s owners, Equinor and Ithaca Energy, wish to proceed with the project, they must resubmit a new Environmental Impact Assessment that includes the field’s ‘scope three’ emissions.