Campaigners gathered outside the Horndean B oil site in Hampshire yesterday (6 September 2026) to launch a fundraiser for a legal challenge over methane pollution from onshore oil and gas sites in the UK.

The Horndean site, operated by Star Energy, is at the centre of the latest legal campaign by the Weald Action Group (WAG), the network fighting expansion of oil and gas operations in southern England for more than a decade.

WAG is now focussing on how methane emissions from oil and gas sites are regulated.

It said it would use a combination of legal action, investigations, technical research and field data to expose regulatory gaps and systematic failures that allow unchecked methane emissions.

In 2024, WAG secured a landmark victory at the UK Supreme Court with the Finch Judgment, which changed the legal landscape for fossil fuel planning decisions by requiring the assessment of downstream emissions from the use of oil and gas.

Methane, regarded as a super climate pollutant, is more than 80 times more potent for global warming than carbon dioxide (CO2) over 20 years.

Unlike CO2, methane breaks down in the atmosphere within a decade. Urgent action has a real chance of slowing warming in our lifetimes.

WAG said the focus of its climate litigation was to help secure faster and more effective action on reducing methane emissions across the UK.

If successful, the group said cases could limit methane emissions in Environment Agency permits issued to oil and gas sites in the UK and to ensure that the UK onshore industry was held accountable.

WAG’s Lorraine Inglis:

“This summer we’ve experienced severe drought and wildfires in communities across the UK, a stark reminder that climate breakdown isn’t a distant threat, it’s happening here and now. Every site like Horndean that continues to emit methane makes the crisis worse, and fixing the leaks is one of the fastest, cheapest wins we have in this crisis.”

WAG organised ”Cake at the Gate” at the Horndean site to mark the launch of the fundraiser. This repeated a popular event at previous protest campaigns at Horse Hill in Surrey and Broadford Bridge in West Sussex.

WAG campaigner Emily Mott said:

“It was a joy to catch up with climate campaigners from across the South East, all working toward the same goal: averting the worst of global warming.

“Every tonne of methane kept out of the atmosphere makes a difference, and the onshore oil and gas industry has a real opportunity to act. Weald Action Group’s Clean Air Clear Future campaign is calling for an end to routine venting and flaring, and faster, more frequent leak detection and repair.

“We are also calling on the government to include emissions from the onshore sector in their Methane Action Plan. “

A fundraiser is live now. Link here