The UK’s High Court, the last judicial instance, has rejected an appeal request to block British funding for natural gas extraction in Mozambique, the environmental organisation Friends of the Earth has revealed.
“This is extremely disappointing. We strongly disagree with the court’s decision, but unfortunately we cannot appeal,” Friends of the Earth’s international climate campaign leader Rachel Kennerley reacted in a statement.
This decision, communicated by the court to the organisation, represents the end of a long legal battle that began in 2020.
A first lawsuit by Friends of the Earth in the High Court in London ended in March 2022 in a split decision between the panel of judges, so the appeal was granted.
But in January, the Court of Appeal rejected it, so the organisation asked for the arguments to be heard again by the High Court, equivalent to the Constitutional Court in Portugal.
Friends of the Earth pledged to continue supporting the Mozambican environmental organisation Justiça Ambiental! and urges the UK government to reconsider involvement in the project in the Rovuma basin in Cabo Delgado.
“The UK should show global leadership by helping nations like Mozambique build clean energy alternatives, not more fossil fuel projects that pollute the planet and accelerate the climate crisis,” Kennerley argued.
The UK export credit agency UK Export Finance (UKEF) has allocated $1,150 million (€1,050 million) in 2020 to develop the ‘offshore’ liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Rovuma basin in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique.
But Friends of the Earth claims that the environmental impact has not been properly assessed, which runs counter to the UK’s commitment to meet the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement to limit global warming.
The organisation has calculated that up to 4,500 million tonnes of greenhouse gases will result from the project over its years of activity.
The project in question, promoted by a consortium led by French oil company TotalEnergies in the Rovuma basin, was suspended in 2021 after attacks by armed groups in Cabo Delgado province.
Valued at between 20,000 and 25,000 million euros, the gas extraction megaproject is one of the largest private investments planned for Africa, and is supported by several international financial institutions.
Lusa
