Norway court overturns oil and gas project approvals in climate case

Norway's energy ministry said Jan. 19 it was considering its response after a district court overturned the ministry's approval for three recent North Sea oil and gas projects in a case brought by Greenpeace and the youth wing of Friends of the Earth.

In a statement, the ministry said it disagreed with the ruling of the Oslo district court and it would have no immediate consequences for ongoing activity.

In a victory for campaigners, the court declared invalid approvals for the Breidablikk, Tyrving and Yggdrasil projects. Breidablikk, operated by state-controlled Equinor, already started producing in October 2023, while the other two are being developed by Aker BP, Norway's second-largest upstream producer.

The case centered on the emissions resulting from consumption of the oil and gas produced from the fields, which the court found had not been specifically assessed. The ministry argued it was not obliged under Norwegian and European laws to make a field-by-field assessment, but to consider the industry's overall impact.

The court also ruled the state could make no further approval decisions in relation to the three projects and questioned some of the ministry's forecasts.

Responding to the ruling, State Secretary Astrid Bergmal said the ministry was "working through" the 109-page judgement before deciding on a possible appeal.

"We disagree with the judgement, and the ruling on the temporary injunction. The ruling ... does not entail immediate consequences for any ongoing activity. I would like to emphasize that this is not a legally binding ruling, and that it is far too early to say anything about what consequences the outcome of a final ruling may have."

The Norwegian case comes as Shell prepares to appeal a 2021 ruling by a district court in the Netherlands that required it to accelerate emissions reductions and cut its carbon footprint by 45% globally by 2030. That case found Shell had a duty to reduce not only its own emissions but those of its suppliers and customers. The court of appeal in the Hague said this week the case would be heard in April.

On the Norwegian case, a spokesperson for Aker BP noted the company was not a party to the proceedings and described the ruling as "unenforceable," saying: "Our development projects will therefore continue in accordance with the permits granted."

Equinor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Norway has become Europe's largest single source of gas since the collapse of Russian supplies to the continent following the invasion of Ukraine, and is also Western Europe's largest oil producer.