Jackdaw Gas Field: 0.02% of Global Emissions, Owner Tells Court
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- Adura filed a 159-page updated Environmental Impact Assessment asserting Jackdaw emissions would account for less than 0.02% of annual global greenhouse gases over the project's lifetime
- The previous EIA, submitted in November, estimated the field could emit up to 35.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent — roughly 90% of Scotland's total annual emissions
- Adura argued that displacing imported US LNG with Jackdaw gas would save 4 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, since imported LNG generates about 20% more emissions than domestically produced gas through liquefaction, transport, and regasification
- Opred (Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning) required the update after finding multiple areas inadequately addressed in the earlier submission
- Lord Ericht of the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled ministerial consent for Jackdaw unlawful last year, following a legal challenge by environmental groups Uplift and Greenpeace, and ordered a more detailed climate assessment plus fresh government approval before production could begin
- Adura justified the field's climate effects as 'minor' because the UK has a 'well-regulated industry' whose targets align with the Paris Agreement's 1.5–2°C limit
Why it matters: A court already struck down Jackdaw's original approval for ignoring downstream climate impact — Adura's 0.02% framing is its second attempt at satisfying that ruling. If the UK government accepts the displacement-of-imports rationale, it sets the template for every future North Sea field's climate test: negligible as a share of global emissions, justified by replacing dirtier imports.
