The government will not be defending the legal challenge brought by Greenpeace and Uplift against the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields

Mel Evans, UK Climate team leader at Greenpeace UK, 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.”