UKβs $1.15 bln funding For Mozambique LNG Project lawful
A London court has upheld the legality of the British government’s $1.15 billion funding for a liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique, dismissing an appeal brought by Friends of the Earth on Friday 13.01.2023
The environmental campaign group had asked Londonβs Court of Appeal to rule the British government wrongly decided funding the project, led by French energy company TotalEnergies, was compatible with the Paris Agreement on climate change.
UK Export Finance (UKEF) has committed to provide direct loans and guarantees to banks to support the design, build and operation of the $20 billion project.
Friends of the Earthβs legal action over the decision failed in a lower court and was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in a written ruling on Friday.
Judge Geoffrey Vos said the Paris Agreement was βonly one of a range of factorsβ UKEF took into account when reaching the decision to fund the project.
The judge added that UKEFβs view that funding the project was aligned with the UKβs obligations under the Paris Agreement was βtenableβ and that there was no requirement for it to be βcertain that the decision complied with those obligationsβ.
Friends of the Earth described the ruling as βextremely disappointingβ and said it is considering an appeal to the UK Supreme Court.
βThis extremely disappointing judgment doesnβt alter our firm belief that the UK government should not be supporting the Mozambique gas project, or any fossil fuel project at home or abroad,β Rachel Kennerley, an international climate campaigner with the group, said in a statement.
UKEF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for TotalEnergies welcomed the ruling, saying the project βwill deliver a range of social and economic benefits to Mozambique and is a key part of Mozambiqueβs aim to diversify its economyβ.
βTotalEnergies supports the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the context of sustainable development and the fight against poverty,β the spokesperson added.