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Norway's supreme court invalidates three North Sea oil permits in climate case

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Summary

  • Norway's supreme court ruled for Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom, invalidating permits for the Breidablikk, Yggdrasil, and Tyrving oil and gas fields.
  • Six of eleven grand chamber judges sided with the organizations; the state was ordered to pay over 5 million kroner in legal costs.
  • The ruling requires new fields to assess the climate effects of combustion abroad across the entire Norwegian continental shelf.
  • The Oslo district court invalidated the permits in January 2024, and an appeals court confirmed that decision in November 2025.
  • Norway is the European Union's largest supplier of natural gas and Western Europe's largest oil producer.

Reactions

  • Greenpeace Norway director Haldis Tjeldflaat Helle called the judgment historic and said it will change Norwegian oil policy forever.
  • Natur og Ungdom leader Sigrid Hoddevik Losnegård said they had not received correct information about the consequences of the fields' oil and gas.
  • Lawyer Jenny Sandvig said the organizations brought the lawsuit on behalf of everyone's interests and right to correct information.
  • Government attorney Fredrik Sejersted argued the state's thorough impact assessments fulfilled all requirements under EEA law.
  • Sejersted said the state disagreed that emissions burned abroad should be subject to impact assessment, but carried it out anyway.

Timeline newest first

  1. On 13 November 2026, Norway's supreme court, sitting in grand chamber with eleven judges, ruled six to five for Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom, invalidating three North Sea oil permits.
  2. The ruling requires new oil and gas fields to assess the climate consequences of combustion abroad across the entire Norwegian continental shelf.
  3. In November 2025, a Norwegian appeals court confirmed the Oslo district court's decision declaring the three permits invalid.
  4. In January 2024, the Oslo district court declared the Breidablikk, Yggdrasil, and Tyrving permits invalid.
  5. Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom sued the Norwegian state in 2023 over permits approved between 2021 and 2023 without prior public consultation on climate impact.
  6. The supreme court ordered the Norwegian state to pay over 5 million kroner in legal costs in the climate lawsuit.
  7. The Norwegian state argued it had repaired the courts' findings, most recently in a Royal Resolution of 12 May 2026, with thorough impact assessments for the three fields.
  8. The climate lawsuit was heard before Norway's supreme court grand chamber on 24-26 August 2026.

Sources newest first

  • La Cour suprême norvégienne invalide trois licences pétrolières en mer du Nord, un « jugement historique »lemonde.fr· 31h

    Norway's supreme court, sitting as a grand chamber of eleven judges, ruled for Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom that three North Sea oil permits — Breidablikk, Yggdrasil, and Tyrving — were invalid for lack of public consultation on their climate impact, after lower courts had already voided them. Greenpeace Norway's director, Haldis Tjeldflaat Helle, called the historic judgment one that will change Norwegian oil policy forever.

  • Norway loses landmark climate case over oilfieldsft.com· 32h
  • Miljøorganisasjonene vant fram i klimasøksmål i Høyesterettnrk.no· 37h

    Nrk.no reports that Norway's Supreme Court, in a Grand Chamber ruling, sided 6–5 with Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom in their climate lawsuit, ordering the state to pay over 5 million kroner in legal costs. Under the ruling, new oil and gas fields like Tyrving, Breidablikk, and Yggdrasil must assess the climate effects of combustion abroad across the whole Norwegian continental shelf, while the state, through attorney Fredrik Sejersted, argued its thorough impact assessments met all EEA law requirements.