The landmark legal case over oil production at Horse Hill in Surrey has led to the postponement of the court challenge to a new coal mine in Cumbria.

If successful, the Horse Hill challenge could shape the way fossil fuel developments, including the coal mine in Whitehaven, are approved.

The case opposing the go-ahead of the mine , given by the levelling up secretary, Michael Gove, had been scheduled to go to the High Court in October.

But a judge, Sir David Holgate, has delayed the hearing on Cumbria until after the Supreme Court has handed out its judgement in the Horse Hill case.

The Horse Hill case was brought by campaigner, Sarah Finch, on behalf of the Weald Action Group. It was heard by the Supreme Court in June 2023. The judgement is expected in the autumn, at the earliest.

Ms Finch’s case centred on whether Surrey County Council acted unlawfully in failing to take account of carbon emissions from the use of oil extracted from Horse Hill.

Her lawyers argued that these emissions, known as downstream or scope 3, should have been assessed in the environmental impact assessment for Horse Hill oil production.

The county council argued that it needed to consider only the emissions from the process of oil production.

The intervention of four companies and organisations in the Horse Hill case illustrates its potential significance.

The interveners, who are able to make statements and legal arguments to the court, included the company behind the Cumbrian mine, West Cumbria Mining Limited, and the Office of Environmental Protection, established to hold government and public bodies to account on the environment.

Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace also intervened.

If Ms Finch’s challenge is successful, the Supreme Court could rule that decisionmakers need to take into consideration downstream emissions before approving planning applications.

This could have major implications for the Cumbrian coal mine. It could provide new legal arguments to Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC), who are seeking to overturn the mine’s approval in court. They could argue that the government acted unlawfully by not considering the downstream emissions for the coal mine.

When the Supreme Court gives its judgement in the Horse Hill case, the High Court will set a date for the hearing on the Cumbria coal mine. Lawyers for Friends of the Earth and SLACC believe this is increasingly likely to be in 2024.

Sarah Finch said today:

“The High Court is right to see that the Horse Hill judgment could have big implications for Cumbria.

“The present lack of clarity over whether planners have to factor in ‘downstream’ impacts of fossil fuel developments is dangerous.

“I hope that the Supreme Court will confirm that no fossil fuel production – coal, oil or gas – should be allowed without consideration of its full climate impact.”

Friends of the Earth lawyer, Niall Toru, said:

“We’re pleased the court has decided to delay the Whitehaven hearing. The Horse Hill case could set a critical legal precedent. Companies looking to extract fossil fuels shouldn’t be allowed to disregard the full impacts of their actions. It’s like a tobacco company saying it can ignore the health impacts of smoking.

“The government’s decision to approve the mine, like much of its recent rhetoric, is completely at odds with our climate commitments, and has left the UK’s reputation on climate in tatters. We will be following the outcome of the Horse Hill challenge very closely, and look forward to the day our case can go to trial.”