‘The People vs Arctic Oil’: Climate activists target Norway at human rights court

The announcement came as Equinor (EQNR.OL), the oil firm majority-controlled by the government, on Tuesday announced it would speed up investments in renewable energy while also continuing to raise oil output for the next five years.

Norwegian climate activists have asked the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to rule against Norway’s plans for more oil drilling in the Arctic, the campaigners said on Tuesday, arguing the country’s exploration deprives young people of their future. The lawsuit, by six individuals aged between 20 and 27 as well as Greenpeace and Young Friends of the Earth, is part of an emerging branch of law worldwide where plaintiffs go to court to make the case for curbing emissions that cause climate change. In the Netherlands, a court recently ordered Shell (RDSa.L) to cut its emissions in a lawsuit brought by citizens who argued that the Anglo-Dutch oil major violated their human rights. "The environmentalists argue that, by allowing new oil drilling in the midst of a climate crisis, Norway is in breach of fundamental human rights," the campaigners said in a statement announcing their appeal to the ECHR.