Thursday was the last day in the Borgarting Court of Appeal in Oslo, in the case of a temporary shutdown for three new oil fields in the North Sea. – It is not possible to put the carbon from the three oil fields back into the ground. Therefore there must be a temporary stop now, said lawyer Jenny Sandvig in her proceedings in court on Thursday. Sandvig represents Nature and Youth and Greenpeace. They have sued the state for having broken the rules on investigating emissions from the three fields, before they gave permission to develop them. This week, the case regarding the Ministry of Energy’s approval of plans for the development and operation of three oil fields has been up in the Borgarting Court of Appeal. The state appealed the case after the climate organizations won in the district court. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news The state lost Greenpeace and Nature and Youth won in January in their lawsuit against the state in the Oslo district court. The case concerned the approval of the three oil and gas fields Tyrving, Yggdrasil and Breidablikk in the North Sea. The district court ruled that all three permits were invalid. – It is very serious that the state refuses to investigate the environmental consequences of the three oil fields. Climate experts have documented in court that the global emissions can lead to the loss of many human lives, and that there can be more heat waves, more extreme weather and major consequences for nature, says Frode Pleym. Photo: Kristian Elster / news – Despite that, the state is working hard to get the fields into production as quickly as possible. The state is obviously only interested in doing what the oil industry wants, not respecting the judgments of the Supreme Court and Oslo district court, says Greenpeace leader Frode Pleym. He uses strong words that production from the fields is underway, even though the state lost. The question the Court of Appeal has to decide for now is whether the fields can get new permits while the parties wait for a final judgment. – The state rises above the law, it is powerful and arrogant. It is dangerous for Norway’s rule of law, says Pleym. Overview of the three oil fields in the North Sea that are in dispute. Photo: news Can have major consequences On Friday, the CEO of Aker BP, Karl Johnny Hersvik, testified. He said that a halt in oil projects would have major consequences, also for the entire supply chain. – There may be a loss of income, there may be furloughs and there may even be bankruptcies at subcontractors. Lawyer Jenny Sandvig represents Greenpeace and Nature and Youth. Photo: Kristian Elster / news Despite the fact that the state lost in the District Court, work on the three fields continued without consequences. Two of them, Tyrving and Breidablikk, are currently pumping oil. Lawyer Sandvig says that it may take several years before the case itself is finally settled. This means that the environmental organizations are demanding a temporary stop now. – 127 tonnes of chemicals will already have been dumped. Most of the oil from Tyrving and Breidablikk will already have been developed. It will be irreversible, she says. She points out that the effects that an impact assessment must assess may have already occurred. It will then be too late to possibly stop permits. – There will be a blow in the air, says Sandvig. – No grounds for temporary suspension Attorney Gøran Østerman Thengs at the Government Attorney held his final proceedings on behalf of the state on Wednesday. He also argues for the serious consequences it can have if the result does not go their way. – The state’s view is basically that these decisions are valid, and that there is no reason to grant a temporary injunction, or more simply, a temporary halt in these projects. That’s what Thengs told news after his final procedure on Wednesday. The Oslo District Court concluded in its judgment that the climate effect of the three extractions was not sufficiently well documented for the decisions to be valid. The part of the climate lawsuit that concerns the state’s decision approving the legality of the fields has been sent to the EFTA Court in Luxemburg for an advisory opinion. Lawyer at the Government Attorney, Gøran Østerman Thengs represents the state in this case. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news – To what extent can you say that the state has taken sufficient account of the climate and environmental aspect in this matter? – These are assessments that are made on an ongoing basis in the ongoing parliamentary debate. Ongoing assessments are also carried out in the government at the overall level. The state’s view is that this is not a legal requirement that must be carried out in every single impact assessment. Thengs says that a possible halt in the approvals could lead to a halt in the progress of the three projects. – Some of the projects here are ongoing developments. They are dependent on ongoing permits being granted as they progress. Other projects are in production, and are dependent on a production permit. If you don’t get it in time, it will delay production, says Thengs. New permits for the projects are scheduled to be granted in November. – If the conclusion is that such permits cannot be granted, then perhaps operations must be stopped from the beginning of 2025? – It will in any case have negative consequences within that time frame, yes, says Thengs. The case has now been taken up for trial. It is unclear when the result will be clear. Published 12.09.2024, at 15.38 Updated 12.09.2024, at 17.42
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New fight in the climate action in court – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
