Horse Hill: Future of UK fossil fuels at stake in test case

A Surrey pistillate volition instrumentality her combat implicit a section lipid drilling licence to the Supreme Court connected Wednesday successful a situation that could spell the extremity of caller fossil substance projects successful the UK.

Judges volition determine whether support for lipid extraction successful Horse Hill was legally granted.

Sarah Finch is challenging the drilling of 4 lipid wells connected clime alteration grounds.

Surrey County Council told BBC News that it followed readying law.

Ms Finch is bringing the lawsuit against Surrey County Council connected the grounds that it did not see immoderate clime impacts of burning the lipid erstwhile it granted readying permission. Environmental lawyers accidental the landmark lawsuit could impact projects nationwide.

The clime impacts successful question - called 'downstream emissions' - are the greenhouse state emissions released erstwhile the lipid is used. Ms Finch says these are estimated to beryllium 10 cardinal tonnes of c dioxide implicit 20 years.

"Planning authorities accidental that they don't request to see the clime impacts of the existent burning of the lipid - conscionable from the drilling. It's similar saying a cocoa barroom is debased calorie arsenic agelong arsenic you don't devour it," Ms Finch, who campaigns with section organisation Weald Action Group, told BBC News.

Greenhouse gases similar c dioxide trap the sun's vigor successful the atmosphere, causing the planet's somesthesia to rise.

"The County Council is required to find readying applications successful accordance with the Development Plan, the National Planning Policy Framework, nationalist argumentation and different worldly considerations, arsenic acceptable retired successful authorities and lawsuit law. The Horse Hill readying exertion was determined connected this basis," a spokesperson for Surrey County Council said.

Ms Finch's archetypal situation successful the High Court was thrown out. She took it to the adjacent level, the Court of Appeals, wherever the 3 judges were split, with 1 upholding the appeal.

Friends of the Earth lawyer Katie de Kauwe told BBC News that c emissions from these projects are "being vastly underestimated".

"Developers are warring tribunal cases similar this due to the fact that they are precise acrophobic that if decision-makers are confronted with the afloat c impacts of these projects, truthful with downstream emissions added, past they mightiness deliberation doubly astir granting them readying permission," she added.

Ms Finch's solicitor Rowan Smith said: "It's hard to overstate the value of this case."

The UK authorities is legally committed to lowering its c emissions to scope nett zero successful 2050, meaning it volition nary longer adhd greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Campaigners including Friends of the Earth accidental caller fossil fuels projects similar Horse Hill undermine those promises.

New fossil fuels projects successful the UK have go politically controversial. Campaigners and experts including the International Energy Agency accidental each lipid and state indispensable beryllium near successful the crushed if the satellite has a accidental of gathering clime goals.

Government advisors successful the Climate Change Committee accidental the champion mode to support consumers from precocious vigor prices is to put successful renewables not fossil fuels.

The nationalist value of the lawsuit is highlighted by the engagement of outer groups, invited by the tribunal to supply further evidence.

They see the institution down a caller ember excavation successful Whitehaven called West Cumbria Mining, arsenic good arsenic the Office for Environmental Protection which is intervening successful a lawsuit for the archetypal time.

Friends of the Earth lawyer Katie de Kauwe said it is highly antithetic for a backstage institution similar West Cumbria Mining to marque this benignant of intervention.

West Cumbria Mining was fixed support by the authorities successful 2021 to unfastened the archetypal caller ember excavation successful the UK for 40 years.

"It is evident that they are disquieted astir the imaginable implications of the lawsuit connected their ember mine," Ms de Kauwe said.

West Cumbria Mining told BBC News it did not see it due to remark connected a unrecorded ineligible case.

The Office for Environmental Protection told BBC News it is intervening due to the fact that it wants ineligible clarity connected however decision-makers behaviour Environment Impact Assessments erstwhile assessing fossil substance projects.

The one-and-a-half time proceeding begins connected Wednesday. A determination from the judges could instrumentality 3 to six months.