Climate Win: Court Case Reverses Permit of Oil and Gas Fields

Greenpeace Nordic and a youth group recently won a climate court case against the Norwegian state.

“This is an important victory for current and future generations and the environment. With this judgment, millions of barrels of oil will remain in the ground. As confirmed by the court’s decision, emissions from the oil fields would have catastrophic effects on the global climate, on people and the planet. We are pleased the oil and gas will remain untouched in the ground, instead of further exacerbating climate disasters,” says Hytis Blaževičius, head of Natur og Ungdom (Young Friends of the Earth Norway).

Following the approval of three new oil and gas fields in Norway, Greenpeace Nordic and Natur of Ungdom banded together to stop their implementation. The groups argued that the new oil and gas fields violate the Norwegian Constitution, the European Economic Area law, and Norway’s international human rights commitments. They even claimed that the original approval of the three oil and gas fields was invalid, as Norway’s Ministry of Energy failed to uphold its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The court ruled in favour of the environmental groups, rendering the approval of the three oil and gas fields invalid and forbidding the state from granting any new permits necessary to construct and produce from the fields.