Plans to drill Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields thwarted in court
Plans to develop the UK’s largest untapped oilfield have been thwarted in a major climate court case.
A Scottish court ruled the previous Conservative government acted “unlawfully” when it green-lit the offshore Rosebank oilfield and smaller Jackdaw gas project.
The judge said the assessment of the projects’ climate damage failed to acknowledge the impact of burning the oil and gas, rather than just from getting them out of the ground.
The case is a victory for climate campaigners – the latest in a series of fossil fuel projects toppled in a domino effect triggered by a “game-changing” court ruling in June.
But the projects could yet still go ahead.
The new Labour administration, elected last July on a mandate to tackle climate change, must now consider the full climate impact of the so-called “downstream” emissions, and make a fresh decision, the court said.
Oil and gas still provide more than two thirds of the UK’s energy, although the volumes in Rosebank and Jackdaw would not dramatically lower UK imports. That makes any future decision on them “political”, said Dr Ewan Gibbs, energy historian at Glasgow University.
Labour could sign off on them while still sticking to its election promise of “no new licenses” for North Sea projects, as these projects already have licences, but just need final government consent.
Campaigners celebrate ‘historic win’
Philip Evans, senior campaigner at Greenpeace UK, which brought the Jackdaw case, said: “This is a historic win – the age of governments approving new drilling sites by ignoring their climate impacts is over.”
The case argued by campaign groups Greenpeace and Uplift last year was boosted by a landmark judgment from the higher Supreme Court in June, which ruled these types of emissions could no longer be omitted.
Greenpeace called it “game-changing”.
Since then, other projects like the West Cumbria coal mine were toppled on the same grounds, and the new government said it would no longer defend such projects in court.
During a hearing in November, the sites’ developers – Shell, Equinor and Ithaca Energy – said they accepted the previous approvals had in fact been unlawful.
But they argued the projects should be allowed to proceed anyway, as they were at advanced stages and the goalposts had been moved.
Why fossil fuel companies are also pleased
Today, Lord Ericht from Scotland’s Court of Session overturned the approvals.
“The public interest in authorities acting lawfully and the private interest of members of the public in climate change outweigh the private interest of the developers,” he said.
“The decisions will be [quashed], and can be taken again, this time taking into account downstream emissions.”
In the meantime the companies are allowed to continue developing their sites, but not extract any of the oil and gas.
A spokesperson for Rosebank’s primary developer Equinor said: “We welcome today’s ruling and are pleased with the outcome which allows us to continue with progressing the Rosebank project while we await new consents.
“Rosebank is critical for the UK’s economic growth, with an estimated 77% (£6.6bn) of total direct investment benefiting UK businesses.”
Rosebank contains about 300 million barrels of oil, most of which would be exported. The smaller amounts of gas from Jackdaw were destined for UK use, but were not expected to make a dent in household bills.
A spokesperson for the government’s energy department said it will in spring issue updated guidance on environmental assessments, and companies could reapply for permissions under those terms.
They added: “Our priority is to deliver a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations, which drives towards our clean energy future of energy security, lower bills, and good, long-term jobs.”
A spokesperson for Jackdaw developer Shell said: “Swift action is needed from the government so that we and other North Sea operators can make decisions about vital UK energy infrastructure.”
Singer and actress Marianne Faithfull has died at the age of 78.
A spokesperson said: “It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull.
“Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family.
“She will be dearly missed.”
Marianne Faithfull in 1995. Pic: Reuters
Faithfull was best known for her 60s hit As Tears Go By, written by The Rolling Stones’ Jagger and Keith Richards.
She also starred in films including The Girl on a Motorcycle and 2007’s Irina Palm, for which she was nominated for a European Film Award for Best Actress.
In recent years, she provided voice work for the 2021 remake of Dune and 2023’s Wild Summon.
Faithfull in The Girl on a Motorcycle. Pic: Mid-Atlantic/Ares/Claridge/Kobal/Shutterstock
Born in 1946, Faithfull started her singing career in 1964 after being discovered by the Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham.
Her self-titled debut album was released a year later, with As Tears Go By reaching number nine on the UK singles chart.
She went on to have a string of successful singles, including Come and Stay with Me, This Little Bird, and Summer Nights, and famously dated Sir Mick from 1966 to 1970.
Faithfull was prolific throughout the 60s, releasing six albums – some only in the UK and some for the US – as well as contributing backing vocals to the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine and inspiring the Stones’ Sympathy For The Devil.
That decade also saw her star in films like 1967’s I’ll Never Forget What’s’isname – where she was one of the first people to say f*** in a mainstream studio film – 1968’s The Girl on a Motorcycle, and Tony Richardson’s 1969 adaptation of Hamlet.
Her relationship with Sir Mick was notorious, with the couple being arrested in 1968 for possession of cannabis.
She was also infamously found by police wearing only a bear skin rug when they arrived for a drugs raid at Richard’s home in 1967.
Faithfull and Mick Jagger dated from 1966 to 1970. Pic: Shutterstock
After breaking up with the Stones frontman, Faithfull spent two years homeless in Soho while suffering from anorexia and heroin addiction, before she started living in a squat.
She wrote in her 1994 autobiography: “For me, being a junkie was an admirable life. It was total anonymity, something I hadn’t known since I was 17.
“As a street addict in London, I finally found it. I had no telephone, no address.”
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In 1979, following success in Ireland with the country-themed Dreamin’ My Dreams, Faithfull released the Grammy-nominated Broken English – widely considered her best album.
She later achieved critical acclaim as a jazz and blues singer with 1987’s Strange Weather and went to rehab that same decade.
Faithfull performing in Montreux, Switzerland, in 2009. Pic: Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA/Shutterstock
Faithfull released a total of 21 solo albums throughout her career. Her most recent was the spoken word album She Walks in Beauty from 2021, which saw her work with frequent Nick Cave collaborator Warren Ellis.
She made a full recovery from breast cancer in 2006, and fell into a coma after catching COVID-19 early in 2020 before recovering.
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