The UK government has said it will not fight a legal challenge against the new Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
Permission has been granted to drill in untapped fields off Shetland and Aberdeen, despite the objections of environmental groups.
Greenpeace and Uplift brought forward a judicial review in an effort to stop the new oil fields going ahead.
The government has announced that it will not fight that review, which does not mean that the Rosebank and Jackdaw developments will be cancelled but if the judicial review goes in favour of the environmental groups the owners will be forced to resubmit environmental assessments.
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That would likely lead to delay and further costs for Shell, which owns Jackdaw, and Rosebank's owners Equinor and Ithaca Energy.
Mel Evans, Greenpeace UK climate team leader, said: “This is absolutely the right decision from the government. These permits should never have been granted without being properly assessed for their impact on the climate, and following the Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, conceding these cases is the logical course of action.
“The two new fields combined would generate a vast amount of emissions while doing nothing to lower energy bills. The only real winners from giving them the greenlight would be multi-billion-pound oil giants. Shell and Equinor should respect the Supreme Court’s decision and the Government’s position that their permits are illegal, and not waste time and money in greedy tactical legal battles.
“The government must now make sure they prioritise public investment to support green jobs growth, that workers affected will be properly supported, and that the funding is ring-fenced for them to switch or retrain into sustainable jobs in renewable energy. Right now the sector continues to employ workers on insecure contracts because they know the North Sea oil sector is in decline.
"Climate justice and worker justice must go hand in hand, and it must always be prioritised over the profits of fossil fuel companies.”
Energy minister Michael Shanks said: “This Government is committed to making Britain a clean energy superpower, helping to meet our first mission to kick-start economic growth.
“While we make that transition the oil and gas industry will play an important role in the economy for decades to come.
“As we support the North Sea’s clean energy future, this Government is committed to protecting current and future generations of good jobs as we do so.
“We were elected with a mandate to deliver stability, certainty and growth. Every action we take will be in pursuit of that.
“We will consult at pace on new guidance that takes into account the Supreme Court’s ruling on Environmental Impact Assessments, to enable the industry to plan, secure jobs, and invest in our economy.”
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