In recent developments, the UK government has decided not to defend legal challenges against the proposed development of two major oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
The fields in question are Rosebank, located off Shetland and containing approximately 300 million barrels of oil, and Jackdaw, situated off Aberdeen.
Environmental groups, including Uplift and Greenpeace, have raised concerns, but the government will no longer contest these challenges in court.
Shetland’s Viking wind farm begins powering mainland Britain, highlighting the push for renewable energy.Oil and gas companies Equinor and Shell, which are spearheading the projects, will continue to address the legal disputes themselves.
This decision follows a Supreme Court ruling in June that requires consideration of the environmental impact of fossil fuel emissions when evaluating planning applications for extraction projects, not just the emissions from extraction itself. The change aligns with the ongoing development of new environmental guidance for the sector.
In related news, the Shetland Isles have begun exporting power to mainland Britain from the UK’s most productive onshore wind farm, Viking.
With 103 turbines generating 443 megawatts of electricity, this project could power nearly 500,000 homes, underscoring the urgency of accelerating renewable energy infrastructure to meet climate goals.