Environmental protestors said the Supreme Court ruling over the Horse Hill oil wells is a "watershed moment" for the fossil fuel industry as lawyers for Friends of the Earth added it will make it harder for new fossil fuel projects to go ahead.
In a three-to-two majority, Supreme Court judges said Surrey County Council acted unlawfully by granting planning permission for an expansion of oil production at Horse Hill without considering the downstream emissions.
The case, brought by Surrey resident Sarah Finch on behalf of the Weald Action Group, was supported by Friends of the Earth as a legal intervener.
Finch argued that the environmental impact assessment failed to account for 'Scope 3' emissions – the carbon emissions produced when the oil is burnt.
The Supreme Court agreed, noting that more than 10 million tonnes of carbon emissions would result from burning the extracted oil.
Lord Leggatt, delivering the majority judgment, stated, “The whole purpose of extracting fossil fuels is to make hydrocarbons available for combustion.”
This ruling emphasises that the end-use emissions of fossil fuel projects must be considered in environmental impact assessments, said the protestors.
Friends of the Earth lawyer Katie de Kauwe hailed the decision as "a watershed moment in the fight to stop further fossil fuel extraction projects in the UK and make the emissions cuts needed to meet crucial climate targets".
"This decision is expected to impact other fossil fuel projects, including the proposed new coal mine in Cumbria and North Sea oil developments, both currently under legal challenge for similar reasons," she said.
Sarah Finch said: “This is a welcome step towards a safer, fairer future. The oil and gas companies may act like business-as-usual is still an option, but it will be very hard for planning authorities to permit new fossil fuel developments – in the Weald, the North Sea or anywhere else – when their true climate impact is clear for all to see.”