The start of 2025 has been rocky to say the least. But in the jumble of it all there was a landmark victory that I hope you didn’t miss – because you were a part of it.

A Scottish court ruled that Rosebank – a major oil field in the North Atlantic – had been unlawfully approved in 2023. The court decided that its emissions hadn’t fully been accounted for, and that the public interest in addressing climate change outweighed the financial interests of the oil companies. 

Rosebank is estimated to be the largest undeveloped oil and gas field in the UK – projected to hold nearly 500 million barrels of oil. The majority of the reserves from Rosebank would be shipped by tankers and exported to refineries overseas, and the rest would be piped through a protected area of the North Sea. Both methods could harm diverse marine life including delicate coral, rare deep sea sponges, clams that live to hundreds of years old, as well as whales and dolphins. On top of that, Rosebank would produce over 200 million tonnes of CO2.

Greenpeace UK activists held a rally outside the Scottish Court of Session in Edinburgh, as Greenpeace’s judicial review into Rosebank began, 2024.

So Greenpeace UK teamed up with Uplift – a local organization which pushes for a rapid and fair transition away from fossil fuels – to try to stop these projects from moving forward. Separately, they submitted two legal challenges to overturn the 2023 approval, and the courts listened! 

This is a major step towards ending new fossil fuel projects and transitioning to renewable energy, and is the first time a major fossil fuel project in the UK has been halted due to climate concerns. It also reinforces the power of legal action in holding governments and corporations accountable. 

But this story isn’t over yet. Work on the Rosebank oil field can continue while the required environmental reassessments are conducted, but oil and gas extraction cannot proceed unless the project receives fresh government approval.

However, as the political landscape continues to shift there’s a concern that governments may still find a way to allow this project to proceed. Which is why Greenpeace UK will continue to keep the pressure on, and keep this oil field closed.