In the wake of a Supreme Court ruling, marking the first inclusion in Britain’s history of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the combustion of oil and gas in environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for hydrocarbon extraction projects, the United Kingdom (UK) set out to create a new environmental guidance, which has now been revealed. This enables offshore developers to submit their applications for consent to develop already-licensed oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Finch case last year, concerning the inclusion of Scope 3 emissions in development project environmental impact assessments, the UK government embarked on a consultation on new environmental guidance for oil and gas firms, which was scheduled to be concluded by Spring 2025.