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Activists gathered outside the Court of Session ahead of the hearing
A legal challenge over the decision to allow development of the UK's largest untapped oil field is taking place in Edinburgh.
A judicial review jointly brought by environmental groups Greenpeace and Uplift is being heard at the Court of Session.
Campaigners want to stop development of the Rosebank oil field, off Shetland, and the Jackdaw gas field, off Aberdeen. But oil companies say these projects are vital.
If the challenge is successful, operators will have to resubmit environmental impact assessments for approval before drilling can begin.
Activists calling for a halt to the projects demonstrated outside the court Tuesday morning.
What does judicial review cover?
Permission to drill in the Rosebank field was granted by the regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), in September last year.
Shell's proposals to develop the Jackdaw field were approved by the NSTA in 2022, after initially being rejected on environmental grounds.
Environmental groups say that when permission was granted for the fields, the impact of emissions caused by burning the extracted oil and gas was “unlawfully ignored” by regulators.
Uplift accused regulators of “lacking transparency” in granting permissions and said Rosebank would harm marine life in the North Sea.
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The British government said in August it would not fight any cases involving Rosebank and Jackdaw.
He effectively admitted that the initial decisions were illegal.
The move comes after the Supreme Court ruled in June that regulators must consider the full environmental impact of new projects, including how fossil fuels are used by end consumers.
It is understood that oil companies will accept that the decisions to greenlight Rosebank and Jackdaw were illegal because the emissions they would create were not properly assessed.
Instead, they should focus on how to move projects forward, given that work is already underway.
What are the activists saying?
Philip Evans, of Greenpeace UK, said: “Earlier this year, the Supreme Court made clear that the climate impact of emissions from burning fossil fuels must be assessed before new oil and gas projects can be approved .
“It’s these types of emissions that are causing the climate chaos we’re seeing around the world.
“But oil companies want to continue drilling to maximize their profits while ignoring the damage they cause.
“That’s why we’re taking Shell, Equinor and Ithaca to court to stop them in their tracks.”
Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said Rosebank should never have been approved.
She said: “Rosebank is a terrible deal for Britain. This is mostly oil for export, which would do nothing to reduce fuel costs or improve our energy security. Yet due to huge tax breaks for new drilling, the British public would effectively cover almost everything. development costs while the oil companies walk away with the profits.
“It will also not provide long-term security for oil and gas workers.
“Even with new fields approved, industry-supported jobs have declined by more than half over the past decade. Workers need clean energy jobs that have a long-term future.”
Lord Deben, former chairman of the government watchdog Climate Change Committee, said: “Rosebank and Jackdaw should never have been approved by the previous government.
“These deposits will do nothing to help the UK's energy security or lower our bills as the oil and gas will be sold on the international market. They will only fuel more floods, fires and droughts all over the world.
What are the oil companies saying?
Norwegian energy giant Equinor and British company Ithaca Energy jointly own the Rosebank field.
They said the project would create around 1,600 jobs during its construction and support around 450 UK jobs over its lifetime.
Equinor declined to comment while the legal challenge was ongoing, but said it continued to “work closely with all relevant parties to advance the project.”
He added: “This is vital for the UK and will bring benefits in terms of local investment, jobs and energy security.”
A Shell spokesperson said the Jackdaw development had been developed in accordance with all relevant consents and permits.
He added: “Choucas is a vital project for the UK’s energy security and the project is already well underway.
“Stopping work is a very complex process, with significant technical and operational issues now that infrastructure is in place and drilling has started in the North Sea.
“Jackdaw will provide enough fuel to heat 1.4 million UK homes as old gas fields reach the end of production.”
The UK government has previously promised that oil and gas will play an important role in the economy “for decades to come” as the UK transitions to clean energy.
The Scottish Government has previously said it has a “presumption against” any further oil and gas exploration.
However, Prime Minister John Swinney said in June that this would still be needed “for some time” to help the country meet its net zero emissions targets by 2045.
Both governments said it would not be appropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings. The NSTA also declined to comment on an actual case.
Comedian Frankie Boyle was due to moderate a public meeting of around 150 climate activists in Edinburgh on Monday evening after lending his support to the Stop Rosebank campaign.
