Institute responds to UK Supreme Court ruling on Surrey oil site

Joana Setzer, Associate Professor at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said:

“The UK Supreme Court’s ground-breaking decision today confirms that there is a legal requirement to assess and consider downstream emissions for UK oil and gas projects.

“It underscores the importance of communicating, through environmental impact assessments, how fossil fuel projects are not in line with UK’s climate commitments. This follows similar decisions in Europe and elsewhere. This ruling is pivotal for several ongoing cases in the UK on other oil sites like Rosebank.”

Bob Ward, Policy and Communications Director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said:

“This ruling will put further pressure ahead of the election on those parties, particularly the Conservatives, that have been promoting further development of fossil fuels in the North Sea, against the advice of experts and contrary to the scientific evidence.”