The Supreme Court will hand down its judgment next week on the landmark legal challenge brought by environmental campaigner, Sarah Finch, against Surrey County Council.

The judgement will be given at the court in central London at 9.45am on 20 June 2024. It will also be livestreamed on the court’s website.

Supporters are expected to gather outside the court on Parliament Square from 9am.

The case centres on whether the climate impact of the use of fossil fuels should be taken into account when planning applications are decided.

It began in 2019 when Surrey County Council granted planning permission for 20 years of oil production at Horse Hill, near Reigate.

Sarah Finch, on behalf of Weald Action Group, argued that the county council should have considered the greenhouse gas emissions arising from burning the oil from Horse Hill.

The council argued that the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations 2017 meant it needed to consider only the emissions from the extraction of the oil

The case went to the High Court and the Court of Appeal, before being heard at the Supreme Court in June 2023.

The judgement will be very important to future, and some current, planning decisions for fossil fuel production.

Ms Finch’s case was supported by Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace UK, which both intervened in the case.

The environmental watchdog, the Office of Environmental Protection, and West Cumbria Mining, the company behind a new coal mine near Whitehaven, also intervened.

Tony Bosworth, climate change campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

“This landmark legal challenge could have huge implications for fossil fuel developments across the country, including the new coal mine in West Cumbria. Sarah Finch’s legal case could play a huge role in building a net zero future.”

Sam Fowles, planning and environment law specialist at Cornerstone Barristers, said:

“It is extremely difficult to overstate the significance of this case.

“This case could be the beginning of the end of new fossil fuel extraction in the UK.”

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