DoD Part 221 Jun 2023 06:59
First intervention of the OEP: This is the first time the Office of Environmental Protection, established in November 2021 as an independent watchdog for enforcing environmental law, has intervened in a court case. It said it was seeking to “highlight the importance of clarity in the law to promote good environmental decision-making”. Friends of the Earth, which has also intervened in the case, in support of Sarah Finch, said:
“It is very positive that the OEP is intervening, as it shows the significance of the issues in the case.”
Impact on other decisions. The Horse Hill case could undermine other decisions in favour of proposed fossil fuel projects, including the Whitehaven coal mine. The EIA for that project also did not assess the end-use emissions. The project’s promoter, West Cumbria Mining, has also intervened in the case. Friends of the Earth has estimated that end-use emissions from burning the coal could be 220 million tonnes of CO2e, compared with about 2 million tonnes of CO2e for residual operational emissions.
Clarifying decisions. The EIA process is designed to provide information to decision-makers. But Friends of the Earth has argued that there is potential for different outcomes when the full climate impacts of fossil fuel projects are understood and considered, compared with when they are not.
Government defence: It is unusual for central government to involve itself in court cases about decisions by planning authorities. But the department of levelling up, communities and local government has joined the council and HHDL in defending the original EIA decision through all the challenges at the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
Climate limits: The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted that greenhouse gas emissions from existing fossil fuel infrastructure are enough to breach the critical limit of 1.5C in global temperature rise. It said any new projects, such as oil and gas wells, would make passing 1.5C more likely.
Sarah Finch said today:
“The biggest climate impact from this project will occur when the oil is eventually burned. If councils can ignore these ‘downstream’ impacts when making planning decisions, then we have no hope of staying within safe climate limits. The present lack of clarity over Environmental Impact Assessments is dangerous. I hope that the Supreme Court will confirm that no fossil fuel development – coal, oil or gas – should be allowed without consideration of its full climate impact.”
Katie de Kauwe, lawyer for Friends of the Earth, said:
“Sarah Finch’s landmark legal challenge could force planning authorities to evaluate the emissions when the extracted gas, coal and oil is actually burnt – with potentially huge repercussions for developments such as the proposed coal mine in Cumbria.”