Another attempt to use the courts to impose the will of climate alarmists bites the dust, at least until the next and final appeal, if it happens. When are they going to take Russia to court over Arctic drilling? Too risky perhaps.

A Norwegian court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by two environmental groups which had sued Norway for granting new oil licenses in the Arctic, reports Phys.org.

A Norwegian court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by two environmental groups which had sued Norway for granting new oil licenses in the Arctic.

Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom (Nature and Youth) had called for the cancellation of exploration licenses granted in May 2016 to 13 oil companies in the fragile Arctic region, saying the concessions violated the Norwegian constitution which since 2014 guarantees the right to a healthy environment.

They argued that new oil activities in the region would be contrary to the 2016 Paris climate accord, which seeks to limit average global warming to under two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and which Norway has signed.

The Oslo district court had ruled in January 2018 that the licenses were not illegal, a decision upheld unanimously by the appeals court on Thursday.

The plaintiffs said Thursday they would appeal to the Supreme Court, Norway’s highest court.

In its ruling, the appeals court found that it was “uncertain that commercial discoveries (of oil and gas) would be made” in the area, rendering purely hypothetical the prospect of potential emissions from future oil and gas fields.

It also noted that the Norwegian oil sector was covered by the European carbon dioxide quota system, which means that production from any future fields in the area would not result in a net rise in emissions.

Full report here.

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Flashback to 2013



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