GREENPEACE THREATENS UK GOVERNMENT WITH LEGAL ACTION
London, 10 June 1997
The environmental organisation Greenpeace has threatened to take the UK Government to the High Court over its failure to apply European Law in the Atlantic Frontier.
In a letter sent today to the President of the Board of Trade, Margaret Beckett, Greenpeace has given the Department of Trade and Industry ten days in which to respond before the matter is lodged before the High Court requesting leave for a judicial review.
Greenpeace alleges that the Government failed to apply both the European Habitats Directive in relation to cold water coral in the Atlantic Frontier and the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive. These Directives should have been applied prior to the Government issuing licenses in the 17th Round of Oil and Gas Exploration.
In the letter Greenpeace requests that the UK Government considers suspending the licenses for oil and gas exploration in the area until the Government has fulfilled its obligations under the Directives.
Coral reefs are one of the habitats described in the European Habitats Directive that should be considered for protection as Special Areas of Conservation.
Greenpeace believes that oil and gas exploration is likely to have significant impacts upon the fragile environment of the area.
The cold water coral in the region, called Lophelia pertusa, supports some 800 species of marine organisms and is thought to have a biodiversity as rich as a tropical rain forest. It is known to be sensitive to disturbance and has a slow recovery rate.
Deputy Executive Director of Greenpeace Chris Rose said, "We believe the Atlantic Frontier oil development is damaging unnecessary and illegal."
Any action by Greenpeace follows a series of unsatisfactory approaches to the UK Government requesting that it reassess the legality of its licensing procedure.
On the 25th April Greenpeace wrote to Ian Lang (previous President of the Board of Trade) challenging the legality of granting oil exploration licenses in the 17th Round. Greenpeace raised a number of questions regarding the DTI/Government's consideration of cold water coral in the Atlantic Frontier as a habitat requiring protection under the European Habitats Directive. To date there has been no satisfactory response to this letter from the UK Government.
Following the election Greenpeace wrote to Margaret Beckett on the 7th May requesting her attention to previous correspondence. To date there has been no satisfactory response to this request.
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