Page 9 - GLNG Week 16 2022

GLNG AFRICA GLNG

Friend of the Earth presses case against UK

for funding Mozambique LNG project

PROJECTS THE international pressure group Friends of the court’s split decision. This, the publication said, is
Earth (FoE) has asked Britain to withdraw fund- more than the combined annual greenhouse gas
ing to a large liquefied natural gas (LNG) project emissions of all 27 European Union countries.
in Mozambique over its high carbon emissions The disagreement between the judges, FoE
potential. argues, means the judicial review failed on a
FOE approached the court in London in mid- technicality and the judgement of Justice Thorn-
2020 seeking an order against the UK Export ton shows that UKEF “misled” ministers during
Finance’s (UKEF) decision to provide $1.15bn the approval process and that her ruling requires
to the project being built by a partnership led by “corrective action” by UKEF or the government
French supermajor TotalEnergies. It argued that even before the appeal is heard, according to
by funding the project, Britain was going against GTR. The other judge, Lord Justice Stuart-Smith
its climate change mitigation obligations under ruled that the British export credit guarantee
the 2015 Paris Agreement. agency’s assessment of the likely climate change
However, two judges hearing the matter disa- effects of the TotalEnergies project was lawful.
greed with a ruling handed down in mid-March An Islamist insurgency near the project site
2022, with one saying UKEF’s funding was legal forced the company to halt work early 2021 but a
and the other saying it was not. They allowed the Mozambican conflict observatory has reported
Washington DC-headquartered conservation that work is resuming as the security situation
group to appeal. is improving.
“Our view is that [UKEF] can and should Rundle told GTR that he expects the Court
withdraw the funding. Normally one High Court of Appeal to hear the case at the end of this year
judge is enough for a claimant to succeed and for or early in 2023, “but in the meantime, we’ve
the defendant to be ordered by the court to cor- got UK Export Finance operating in a situation
rect its behaviour,” Will Rundle, head of legal at where a High Court judge has told them it’s act-
FoE, was quoted on Wednesday (April 20) by the ing unlawfully”.
Global Trade Review (GTR) as saying. He added: “That’s really interesting territory
TotalEnergies is working to extract natural for a public authority because while they can
gas from two offshore fields to an onshore liq- point to the appeal going ahead, that judgement
uefaction facility in a project valued at $20bn. Its currently stands as law, and they need to respond
asset has around 65tn cubic feet of recoverable to that.”
natural gas and is projected to produce 13mtpa Responding to FoE’s continuing action
of gas, scalable to 43mtpa, the French company against the UKEF, its spokesperson told GTR:
says. Most of the output is earmarked for export “We welcome the judgment and remain confi-
to Asia and Europe. dent that UK Export Finance follows robust and
Research by FoE and the New Economics internationally recognised due diligence before
Foundation showed that the Mozambique LNG providing any support for overseas projects.
project would produce 3.3bn-4.5bn tonnes of We do not comment further on ongoing legal
carbon dioxide equivalent over its lifecycle, Drill proceedings.”™
or Drop reported on March 15, after the British

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