Norway oil permits face Supreme Court climate hearing

Norway's Supreme Court began hearing arguments Monday over government oil licences challenged by environmental groups that say the permits were approved without sufficient environmental impact studies.

Young Friends of the Earth Norway and Greenpeace's Norwegian branch filed the case in 2023 against permits for the Tyrving, Breidablikk and Yggdrasil fields in the North Sea. They say the permits were issued before environmental impact studies had been carried out.

Climate campaigners won two lower-court rulings, but judges allowed operations to continue at the three fields while the Energy Ministry appealed. The ministry argued there were no grounds to halt the projects.

Breidablikk and Tyrving are operational. Yggdrasil, whose potential reserves were recently revised upward, is due to start producing in 2027.

The Supreme Court is hearing the case in its grand chamber, with 11 judges instead of the usual five, a format reserved for major cases.

The case is part of a wider effort by activist groups to use courts to challenge government policies they say create climate or environmental risks. Climate groups have accused Norway, the main producer of oil and gas in Western Europe, of profiting from fossil fuel sales even though fossil fuel use contributes to global warming.