Six climate activists and two environmental NGOs have taken Norway to the European court of human rights (ECHR), arguing the Nordic country’s plans to drill for oil in the Arctic are harming young people’s futures.
The activists, Greenpeace and Young Friends of the Earth, want the court to rule that Oslo’s 2016 decision to grant 10 Barents Sea oil exploration licences violated article 112 of Norway’s constitution, which guarantees the right to a healthy environment.
“The environmentalists argue that, by allowing new oil drilling in the midst of a climate crisis, Norway is in breach of fundamental human rights,” the campaigners said in a statement announcing their appeal to the ECHR.
The case follows a recent decision by a Dutch court to order Royal Dutch Shell to cut its global carbon emissions by 45% from 2019 levels by the end of 2030 in a landmark case brought by Friends of the Earth and 17,000 co-plaintiffs.
Norway, Europe’s second-largest oil and gas producer, produces about 4m barrels a day of oil equivalent. It said last week that while it was investing in hydrogen and offshore wind for its green energy transition, it would continue to extract oil and gas until at least 2050 and possibly beyond.
[Jon Henley] ieefa.org