Britain's government will not defend legal challenges against the development of North Sea oil fields Rosebank and Jackdaw.
Brought by Greenpeace and Uplift, the cases surround development at the sites, which are respectively west of Shetland and east of Aberdeen.
Ministers confirmed on Thursday that the challenges against licences granted under the former government would no longer be contested.
The licences have not been revoked, meaning Equinor and Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) can still face Greenpeace and Uplift’s claims.
“These permits should never have been granted without being properly assessed for their impact on the climate,” Greenpeace UK climate head Mel Evans commented.
“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 green light would be multi-billion-pound oil giants.”
This comes after a Supreme Court ruling in June stated emissions must be considered in planning applications for new fossil fuel projects, with Rosebank the last remaining major untapped oil field in the UK.