In a decision published today, Judge Jeffrey Foss dismissed the lawsuit, finding that agreeing to support the project was “within the wide margin of discretion allowed” to politicians.
At risk $1,150 million (€1,095 million at current exchange rates) has been pledged by UK Export Finance (UKEF) to develop an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Rovuma Basin, in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique. .
The British environmental organization argued that the funding was not properly assessed in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, and that it contradicted the UK’s commitment to comply with the Paris Agreement on climate change to limit global warming.
Friends of the Earth has calculated that over the years of activity, the project will generate up to 4,500 million tons of greenhouse gases.
British campaigner Rachel Kennerly said: “This deeply disappointing decision does not change our firm conviction that the UK government should not support the gas project in Mozambique, or any fossil fuel project at home or abroad.”
Daniel Ribeiro, an activist with the Mozambican organization Justiça Ambiental, also considered the sentence “bad news for the people of Mozambique who are affected by this project and for all those who are suffering from climate impacts globally.”
“It is time to end the British government’s funding of the destructive and colonial extraction of fossil fuels abroad and the perpetuation of decades of human rights and environmental abuses in countries at the forefront of the climate crisis,” he said in a statement.
The project in question, promoted by a consortium led by French oil company TotalEnergies, in the Ruvuma Basin, was put on hold in 2021 after attacks by armed groups in Cabo Delgado province.
The gas extraction mega project has a value of between 20,000 and 25,000 million euros, and is one of the largest private investments planned in Africa, supported by many international financial institutions.
BM // VM
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Emily Brontë is a journalist and feature writer specialising in culture, entertainment, literature, and current affairs. She is dedicated to producing clear, accurate reporting that helps readers stay informed about developments in the UK and around the world.
