Europe's largest gas plant - legal fight continues

(The Ecologist, 4 May 2020) Judge reserves judgement on whether planning approval for Drax's proposed gas plant was unlawful.

A High Court judge has reserved judgment on whether the UK government’s approval of what would be Europe’s largest gas plant was lawful, after three days of hearings.

ClientEarth, the environment law charity, has brought a High Court challenge to the decision granting planning consent for a new 3.6GW gas plant, proposed by energy company Drax Power.

During the hearing, ClientEarth’s legal team argued that the Secretary of State’s decision to approve the project, contrary to the recommendation of its own Planning Inspectorate, was unlawful.

Impacts

The court heard that the UK government was legally obliged to consider the impact of the greenhouse gas emissions that the proposed large-scale gas plant could have, including in light of the UK’s net zero target.

External link

The Ecologist, 4 May 2020: Europe's largest gas plant - legal fight continues