Greetings, CaseSnappy community! We are back with another instalment of our Decoding Judgements series, this one’s heated—quite literally. We are examining R (on the application of Finch on behalf of the Weald Action Group) v Surrey County Council and others [2024] UKSC 20, a recent landmark case that debated the boundaries of environmental impact assessments (EIA) in oil extraction projects. So, let's unpack the arguments, shall we?
An oil developer announced plans to expand production in Surrey, asserting that the project's EIA should just cover direct greenhouse gas emissions within the project's site and not from burning the extracted oil elsewhere. Surrey County Council shared this interpretation, but not all were in agreement. A local resident, representing the Weald Action Group, launched a legal challenge, contending that combustion emissions should have been assessed as part of the EIA.
Primarily, the case questioned if combustion emissions are considered 'direct or indirect effects' of the project under EIA Directive and 2017 Regulations and if so, they should be part of the EIA assessment. The appeal also alleged that the council's decision was illegitimate, as it overlooked combustion emissions. The Supreme Court was unanimous in its rejection of the Court of Appeal’s view that the matter required an evaluative judgement, deciding that at heart it was a question of causation.
The Supreme Court majority ruled the council's decision as unlawful. The emissions resulting from burning the extracted oil were categorised as 'effects of the project' under the EIA Directive. The court criticised the council's EIA limitations to onsite emissions, arguing environmental effects are not bound by geography. The process of refining crude oil was not seen as severing the causal link between extraction and combustion. Thus, the court decided the council's decision to grant permission without assessing combustion emissions was unlawful.
This case cast a spotlight on essential questions about the scope of environmental impact assessments and how they interact with the broader issue of climate change. Our Decoding Judgements series strives to unravel such complex legal issues, making them approachable for inquisitive minds across different disciplines. Keep an eye out for our next dive into the world of legal discernment.
Sign up to CaseSnappy for free today and ignite your understanding of the law.