The lawsuit from Greenpeace and Nature and Youth is a continuation of the first climate lawsuit, which went three rounds before the court in the years 2017 to 2020. The environmental organizations believe that the state is violating the requirements set by the Supreme Court last time they sued the state, by recently approving plans for the development and operation of the new Tyrving, Breidablikk and Yggdrasil fields in the North Sea. – The government defies climate science and our own Supreme Court when it allows new oil fields without investigating whether these are compatible with a livable environment, says Frode Pleym, head of Greenpeace Norway. Believes the state must assess climate effect According to the organisations, the judgment brought with it some important implications for the environment, on which they base the new lawsuit: The state not only has the right, but also the duty to refuse new oil fields for reasons of climate and environment. The state is obliged to investigate the global climate impacts of new oil fields before these can be approved. The organizations receive support in their interpretation from the Norwegian Institute for Human Rights (NIM). After the previous climate lawsuit, NIM was tasked by the government to investigate what the Constitution’s environment clause means for future approvals of plans for the development and operation of petroleum deposits (PUD). NIM concludes that the state can no longer grant permits to projects that have not investigated the climate impact of the oil and gas being used in other countries. And if the investigation shows that the emissions are not in line with the 1.5 degree target in the Paris Agreement, then the project cannot be approved. These projects get the green light All the projects in the North Sea that receive approval have Aker BP as project operator. These receive approval: Yggdrasil – A large area development in the central part of the North Sea. The investments are estimated at around NOK 115 billion. The licensees Aker BP, Equinor and PGNIG plan to start production in 2027. Valhall PWP and Fenris – The development involves further development of the Valhall area, where a new unmanned platform on the Fenris field will be connected to a new integrated process platform on Valhall. Symra – The Symraut building is a subsea facility that will be connected to the Ivar Aasen platform with further connection to the Edvard Grieg platform. The projects in the Norwegian Sea that receive approval: Irpa – Irpa is planned to be developed with a seabed facility that will be connected to the Aasta Hansteen platform. The project operator here is Equinor. Verdande – Verdande is a subsea development to be connected to the production and storage vessel on the Norne field (Norne FPSO) in the Norwegian Sea. Project operator is Equinor. Dvalin Nord – Dvalin Nord is to be developed with a subsea frame which will be connected to the Heidrun platform via a bottom frame on the existing Dvalin field. Project operator is Wintershall Dea. Skarv satellites – The three separate seabed developments Alve Nord, Idun Nord and Ørn are to be connected to the production ship Skarv off the coast of Helgeland. Project operator is Aker BP. Maria – The development is a further development of the Maria field, which has been in production since 2017. The project operator is Wintershall Dea. Berling – The Berling field consists of two separate discoveries in the Norwegian Sea and is planned to be developed with a subsea framework connected to the Åsgard B facility. The project operator is OMV. Source: Regjeringen.no Gina Gylver, head of Nature and Youth. Photo: Isabelle Dorothy Fuglevig Poole / Isabelle Dorothy Fuglevig Poole Gina Gylver, head of Nature and Youth, says it is high time that the government begins to consider children’s best interests in decisions to develop more fossil energy. – All this is a crazy unfair burden for today’s young people. Now we are taking the fight for our rights to the courts, says Gylver. Did not win in the Supreme Court in 2020 In 2020, the environmental organizations did not win in the Supreme Court with the claim that the allocation of new oil fields in the Barents Sea was in violation of the Constitution’s environmental section. The state was acquitted on all counts. Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom lost the case both in the district court and in the court of appeal. In the end, there was also a loss in the Supreme Court. The court unanimously believes that the awarding of oil licenses in the Barents Sea in 2016 was a breach of neither the environmental clause of the Constitution nor the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as the plaintiffs claimed. The Supreme Court believed that the Constitution’s environmental section 112 should be a “safety valve”, in case the state grossly disregards its duties. For that, the threshold must be very high, according to the judgement. The court believes that it is primarily if the state does not implement climate measures that the section can be used. The judges pointed out that the state has implemented a number of climate measures, and set targets to reduce emissions. The then Oil and Energy Minister Tina Bru (H) said she was satisfied with the verdict and described it as important and thorough. – We have received acceptance that our decision was valid. I am not surprised, given that it was a decision that was supported by a broad majority in the Storting. The verdict is important because it rings a bell in a long-standing Norwegian tradition where difficult political questions are assessed, debated and finally weighed by elected representatives in the parliament, said Bru.
ttn-69
Going to a new climate lawsuit against the state
