Horse Hill: The future of UK fossil fuels is at stake in a test case

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By Georgina Rannard Climate and Science Correspondent

2 hours ago

Image source, Getty Images

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The test case could have ramifications for the future of fossil fuel exploration in the UK

A Surrey woman will take her fight over a permit to drill for domestic oil to the High Court on Wednesday in a challenge that could spell the end of new fossil fuel projects in the UK.

The judges will decide whether permission to extract oil at Horse Hill has been legally granted.

Sarah Finch challenges drilling four oil wells on the grounds of climate change.

Surrey County Council told BBC News it was following planning law.

Ms Finch is taking the case against Surrey County Council on the grounds that it failed to take into account some of the climate impacts of oil burning when it granted planning permission. Environmental lawyers say the historic case could affect projects across the country.

The climate impacts in question – called “downstream emissions” – are the emissions of greenhouse gases released when oil is used. Ms. Finch says it’s an estimated 10 million tons of carbon dioxide over 20 years.

“Planning authorities say they don’t need to look at the climate impacts of the actual burning of oil – just from drilling. It’s like saying chocolate cake is low in calories as long as you don’t eat it,” Ms. Finch, who campaigns with the local Weld Action Group, said. for BBC News.

Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide trap the sun’s heat in the atmosphere, warming the planet.

“The County Council is required to determine planning applications in accordance with the development plan, national planning policy framework, national policy and other material considerations, as set out in legislation and case law. The Horse Hill planning application has been determined on this basis,” said a Surrey County Council spokesperson.

Image source, Brian Truscott

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Sarah Finch has campaigned against the Horse Hill oil wells since 2012

Finch’s first appeal to the Supreme Court was denied. It moved to the next level, the Court of Appeals, where the three judges split, and one upheld the appeal.

Friends of the Earth barrister Katie De Kowe told BBC News the carbon emissions from these projects were “grossly underestimated”.

She added that “developers are fighting such cases in the courts because they are very concerned that if decision makers are confronted with the full carbon impacts of these projects, so with downstream emissions added, they may think twice about giving them planning permission.”

“The importance of this case is hard to overstate,” said Rowan Smith, Ms. Finch’s lawyer.

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Horse Hill is located near Gatwick

The UK government is legally obligated to reduce its carbon emissions to net zero in 2050, which means it will no longer add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Activists including Friends of the Earth say new fossil fuel projects like Horse Hill undermine those promises.

New fossil fuel projects in the UK have become politically controversial. Activists and experts, including the International Energy Agency, say all oil and gas must be left in the ground if the world is to have a chance of meeting climate goals.

Government advisers to the Committee on Climate Change say the best way to protect consumers from rising energy prices is to invest in renewables, not fossil fuels.

The case’s national importance is highlighted by the participation of outside groups, invited by the Court to provide additional evidence.

Among them are the company behind a new coal mine in Whitehaven called West Cumbria Mining, as well as the Environmental Protection Bureau getting involved in a case for the first time.

Friends of the Earth solicitor Katie De Cowie said it was very unusual for a private company like West Cumbria Mining to make this kind of intervention.

West Cumbria Mining won government permission in 2021 to open the first new coal mine in the UK in 40 years.

“It is clear that they are concerned about the potential repercussions of the case on their coal mine,” said Ms Di Kawi.

West Cumbria Mining told BBC News it did not consider it appropriate to comment on a live legal case.

The EPA told BBC News it was stepping in because it wanted legal clarity on how decision makers should assess environmental impact when evaluating fossil fuel projects.

The one-and-a-half-day hearing begins on Wednesday. The judges’ decision may take three to six months.

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