The Supreme Court has handed down its judgement on the case of Finch vs Surrey County Council. This concerns oil extraction from the Horse Hill Well Site in the Surrey Hills and relates to whether a planning decision needed to take into account not only the impacts/consequences of the development/use of the land alone but also the downstream climate change impacts (scope 3 emissions). The planning authority (and the Government) took the view that the EIA/decision making process only needed to take account of the former.
The appeal ruling has determined that scope 3 emissions for new developments should be taken into account. It is no longer just about the climate change impacts of the development activity that is being considered for permission – but the climate change consequences of that activity.
Whilst this case relates to hydrocarbons it remains to be seen how far-reaching the consequences of this decision will be, not only to fossil fuel projects but also other high carbon-emitting proposal and other development activity.
For more information, contact Simon Chaffe for details