LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - The British High Court has
agreed to hear a case by environmental campaigners claiming that
the government's support of North Sea oil and gas companies
conflicted with its plans to slash the country's carbon
emissions by 2050.
The legal challenge revolves around tax breaks oil and gas
producers receive in order to help cover costs for dismantling
and clearing up ageing infrastructure, in what is known as
decommissioning.
The case names as defendants the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA)
which oversees the North Sea industry as well as the Secretary
of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
Kwasi Kwarteng.
The OGA earlier this year said it will focus on "managing
the declining production and maximising value" from the North
Sea, one of the world's oldest offshore oil and gas basins, as
part of the government's plans to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions to net zero by 2050.
The claimants argue that the decommissioning tax breaks are
not consistent with the government's net zero emissions targets.
Many countries offer producers decommissioning tax relief.
"Instead of using public money to prop up the oil and gas
industry, the UK should be funding a just transition that
retrains workers and builds the low-carbon industries of the
future," Mikaela Loach, one of the three claimants, said in a
statement.
The OGA said in a statement that its strategy "which
includes net zero requirements on industry, is the primary tool
the OGA has to hold industry to account on emission reductions."
BEIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Royal Dutch Shell and BP, which have both
operated in the North Sea for decades, paid no taxes to the
British government in 2019 as a result decommissioning tax
relief, according to the firms' tax reports.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso; editing by David Evans)