Paid to Pollute v. UK Oil and Gas Authority

The Paid to Pollute campaign filed legal action against the United Kingdom government for violating climate laws and international agreements through the Oil and Gas Authority's (OGA) strategy. The new strategy, plaintiffs argue, focuses on the economic gains of the oil and gas industry but does not take into account the environmental impacts. The case is currently pending.

Background
In 2015, the UK OGA implemented a new strategy, legislated in the Petroleum Act, meant to maximize the "economic recovery" of oil and gas in the North Sea, along with the industries receiving tax cuts and government subsidies. Climate activists argue that prioritizing the economics of the oil and gas industry means more drilling and much more harm to the environment that will violate international climate agreements and accelerate climate change. Three climate activists have filed suit in the UK Court, Mikaela Loach, Kairin van Sweeden and Jeremy Cox, and they are backed by the Paid to Pollute campaign. The campaign is made up of three environmental nonprofits: Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth Scotland, and 350, along with support from Extinction Rebellion, Oil Change International, and the UK Student Climate Network.

The plaintiffs' legal argument has a couple of points. First, they argue that the UK government is using public funds to subsidize climate change--while the government receives little to no tax money from oil and gas companies, they are investing their own citizens' taxes to fund the industry. The plaintiffs state that the government needs to collect tax money from the industry and put it towards clean energy and mitigating the effects of climate change. Additionally, they point out that the industry needs public funds to function and is not a profitable industry without government assistance, rendering the OGA strategy of maximizing economic recovery irrational and not economic for the UK. Importantly, the plaintiffs say the strategy is a violation of climate commitments such as the Paris Agreement and the UK's own goal of reaching net-zero by 2050.

Relevant Law and Principles

 * Petroleum Act
 * Climate Change Act 2008
 * Paris Agreement

Status
The case has yet to be heard in court and is currently pending.

Takeaways
This case is part of a larger trend of citizens taking action against the government for financial support of the fossil fuel industry. There has been a “rising trend” of citizens and campaigns using the legal system to “put pressure on the regulators and the wider industry”. The outcome of this case will be precedent for how much culpability the UK government bears for its financial support of industries signficiantly contributing to climate change and will impact future legal proceedings.

Links

 * Paid to Pollute
 * Greenpeace
 * Friends of the Earth Scotland
 * 
 * Extinction Rebellion
 * Oil Change International
 * UK Student Climate Network