OSLO (AFP) – Two environmental groups said yesterday they were suing the Norwegian state for violating the country’s human rights commitments and constitution by planning new oil and gas projects worth nearly USD19 billion.
The Nordic branch of Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom, which previously lost a similar lawsuit brought against the state, objected to the planned development of three new oil fields approved by the government.
“The Norwegian government is bent on opening new oil fields that will produce fossil fuels decades into the future,” Greenpeace Norway head Frode Pleym said in a statement.
“It is blatantly disregarding the climate, the science, and even our own Supreme Court in its effort to please the oil industry,” he added.
Norway’s petroleum and energy ministry gave its green light Wednesday to 19 fossil fuel projects worth over NOK200 billion (USD18.6 billion).
They include the extension of existing oil and gas fields and investments to increase the rate of hydrocarbon recovery in the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea, as well as the opening of new fields, including Yggdrasil, which belongs to Norwegian group Aker BP.
The two other fields – Tyrving, also controlled by Aker BP, and Breidablikk, operated by Norway’s Equinor – previously received government authorisation.
The government said the projects would boost employment and hone skills, and cited the need for Norway – which became Europe’s biggest gas supplier last year – to continue supplying energy to the continent.
