Norway’s top court started to hear arguments regarding the legality of awarding offshore oil licenses in the Arctic, in a landmark case that could stop the industry’s expansion.
As Reuters reports, the lawsuit, led by environmental groups Greenpeace Norway and Nature and Youth, is part of an emerging branch of law worldwide where plaintiffs seek to use a nation’s founding principles to make the case for curbing emissions.
Nevertheless, two lower have found the government’s 2016 decision to award 10 licenses to oil firms, including Equinor, in the Barents Sea to be legal.
The oil and gas industry has made Norway one of the richest countries in the world, but it is also the largest emitter of CO2 which causes dangerous climate warming.
Norway has pledged to reduce emissions by at least 50% by 2030 compared to 1990.
However, there are concerns that the country will not be able to meet its pledge under the 2015 Paris Agreement, if it continues to drill for more oil.
In a sign of the case’s importance, all members of the Supreme Court, bar three who are deemed to have conflicts of interest, will hear arguments until November 12.
