Greenpeace sues UK government to stop massive offshore drilling project VIDEO

Greenpeace filed suit against the United Kingdom government on July 26, contending that the recent approval of a new North Sea gas field was unlawful because officials refused to evaluate how greenhouse gas pollution from Shell's so-called Jackdaw project will exacerbate the climate emergency.

When the U.K. government greenlit more drilling off the coast of Aberdeen on June 2 without an adequate assessment of the overall emissions impact, it failed to uphold its legal obligation to account for the climate damages caused by the increased extraction and burning of fossil fuels, Greenpeace argues. 

Greenpeace estimates that if burned, gas extracted from Shell's Jackdaw development will generate more carbon dioxide than the annual emissions of Ghana. Last year, the International Energy Agency made clear that new fossil fuel projects are incompatible with the Paris agreement's goal of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC above preindustrial levels.

The legal challenge comes as U.K. residents are enduring deadly extreme heat and skyrocketing energy bills. Reliance on fossil fuels lies at the heart of both problems, Greenpeace says, and Jackdaw will only make things worse. Even U.K. officials have admitted that the project is unlikely to reduce household energy costs because Shell will sell the gas to whichever country is willing to pay the most for it.

"This Jackdaw approval is a scandal," Philip Evans, an oil and gas transition campaigner for Greenpeace U.K., said in a statement. "The government knows that burning fossil fuels drives the climate crisis, yet they're approving a new gas field in June, without proper climate checks, and declaring a national emergency over heatwaves in July."

"Meanwhile, household bills are soaring, and the government is ignoring common sense solutions—like home insulation, heat pumps, and cheap renewable power," said Evans. "We believe this is an astonishing dereliction of the government's legal duty, and we won't let it stand. So we're taking legal action to stop Jackdaw, and whenever we see the government acting unlawfully to greenlight new fossil fuels we stand ready to fight in the courts."

NEW 🚨: Yesterday, @Shell made their final investment decision to move forward with Jackdaw.

Today, we announced that we're taking the UK Government to court over their decision to approve Jackdaw.

Here's why👇 pic.twitter.com/kkM9K9RvQv

— Greenpeace UK (@GreenpeaceUK) July 26, 2022