UK Supreme Court Rules Emissions Must Be Considered in Planning Permissions

UK Supreme Court Rules Emissions Must Be Considered in Planning Permissions

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has ruled that emissions resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels must be considered when granting planning permission for new drilling sites. The ruling, delivered on Thursday, quashed Surrey County Council's 2019 decision to allow the expansion of an oil well site at Horse Hill, near Horley.

The case was brought by Sarah Finch, representing the Weald Action Group, who argued that the environmental impact assessment should have included the downstream emissions from burning the extracted oil. The council’s initial assessment only considered the emissions from the extraction process, which the court found inadequate.

In a 3-2 decision, the Supreme Court found Surrey County Council’s decision to exclude combustion emissions from its evaluation to be unlawful. Lord Leggatt, delivering the judgment, emphasized that emissions from burning the oil are direct effects of the project and must be included in the environmental assessment.

The ruling could have significant implications for future fossil fuel projects, requiring local authorities to consider both direct and downstream emissions. Friends of the Earth, which supported Finch's case, indicated the decision could impact projects such as the Whitehaven coal mine in Cumbria and the Rosebank oilfield in the North Sea.

Surrey County Council stated that it believed its actions were lawful at the time, but acknowledged the judgment's mandate to consider downstream emissions in future assessments.