In November 2023, two nongovernmental organisations, Greenpeace Nordic and Natur og Ungdom brought a lawsuit against the Norwegian state. The organisations argued that the Norwegian government’s approval of three new oil fields in the North Sea violated the Norwegian constitution and various international human rights commitments. Norway is the main exporter of oil and gas in northern and western Europe.
On January 18, 2024, the Oslo District Court ruled in favour of the two organisations. As such, approvals for licenses of three new oil fields – Breidablikk, Yggdrasil and Tyrving – are overturned. The Oslo District Court did not only find the approvals for the three oil fields invalid, but it also issued an injunction that prevents the Norwegian government from granting new permits.
Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom brought the case under Article 112 of the Norwegian Constitution, which protects the right to a healthy environment. They also referred to Article 3 under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Interestingly, in 2016, the same two organisations had brought a similar case against the Norwegian government. That case went all the way up to the Norwegian Supreme Court, which involved an application to quash licenses issued by the Norwegian government for petroleum exploration in the Barents Sea.
In December 2020, the Supreme Court rejected the organisations’ appeal and upheld the Barents Sea licenses. Its reasoning at the time was that future emissions from petroleum exploration activities were too uncertain for it to bar the licenses.
However, a key point is that the Supreme Court also noted that the Norwegian state is obliged to assess the global climate impact before approving new oil projects. In other words, the greenhouse gas emissions of combustion or oil abroad have to be included in any climate impact assessment.
This, in turn, allowed the organisations to bring this new case to a successful conclusion. It built upon the precedent established by the December 2020 ruling. The organisations argued that for the latest three license approvals, the Norwegian government, impact assessments were either “highly inadequate or non-existent”.
Head of Greenpeace Norway, Frode Pleym, said, “I am extremely pleased and relieved that the Court has delivered such a positive and thorough judgement. The judgement establishes that the Breidablikk, Yggdrasil, and Tyrving oil and gas fields were approved on an illegal basis and that production must be stopped immediately. We expect a halt to all further developments”.
According to Reuters, Norway’s energy minister is considering to appeal the verdict.
Other future updates may include clarifications issued by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, on claims made regarding Articles 2 and 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The Oslo District Court refrained from ruling on the topic for this reason.
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