Communities fighting onshore oil and gas
The Weald Action Group invites campaigners to join us for ‘Cake at the Gate’*, a relaxed get-together outside the Horndean oil site, which is the site at the centre of our legal challenge over methane pollution. Continue reading “Join us for Cake at the Gate at Horndean, 6 September 2026”
The Weald Action Group has responded to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC)’s latest five-yearly advice to the Government on the likely impact of onshore petroleum extraction in England on the ability to meet UK-wide carbon budgets and Net Zero.
In a letter to CCC Chair Nigel Topping, we say that the CCC’s January 2026 letter to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero runs contrary to the Committee’s previous advice of a presumption against furthering such developments – and may well underestimate the emissions associated with onshore petroleum activity.
Award recognizes grassroots environmental leaders who take significant action for our planet
Climate campaigner Sarah Finch, who won a landmark and far-reaching legal victory in the UK Supreme Court in 2024 in a case she brought on behalf of the Weald Action Group, is one of the six winners of the prestigious 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize.
The Prize is awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists from each of the world’s six primary regions. Prize winners are selected by an international jury from nominations submitted by a worldwide network of organizations and individuals.
Continue reading “Weald Action Group Campaigner Sarah Finch awarded US Goldman Prize”
A community goes to court to challenge the extension of a fossil fuel development. They argue – among other things – that the environmental assessment should have covered the climate impacts of burning the fuel to be produced. They lose in the first court and take their case to the court of appeal….
Sound familiar?
It’s not the Weald Action Group this time, but a local group fighting coal in New South Wales, Australia.
Continue reading “Australian anti-coal campaigner visits Weald Action Group”
The Weald Action Group has responded to the government’s consultation on proposed changes to planning policy (the National Planning Policy Framework, or NPPF).
Current planning policy allows for – and positively encourages – oil and gas development within licenced areas. The new draft contains some changes – but unfortunate wording and omissions undermine some of the improvements.
We have written to the Prime Minister and the Secretaries of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government and for Energy Security & Net Zero asking them NOT to implement recommendations from a controversial review of nuclear regulation. Read the letter.
Continue reading “Letter to the Prime Minister: Don’t scrap the Finch ruling”
We have won an important change that will make it easier for planners in Hampshire to make good decisions on oil and gas development applications.
Continue reading “Win in Hampshire: misleading wording removed from Minerals & Waste Plan”
The Weald Action Group is starting the new year by launching legal action over the UK’s failure to properly regulate methane emissions from onshore oil and gas sites.
Happy New Year!
2025 was quite a year for the Weald Action Group. We saw continuing impacts of our 2024 Supreme Court win, and renewed debate on the topic of fracking. We also laid the foundations of a new campaign on methane.
The year saw some positive developments – including a landmark opinion on climate change from the International Court of Justice (see below) and a commitment by the UK government to end new oil and gas licensing, both on and offshore. However it also saw the intensification of climate impacts around the world, from fires and floods to the failure of farming systems. In October, scientists warned that the Earth had reached the first catastrophic climate tipping point, with coral reefs facing ‘widespread dieback’, and is ‘on the brink’ of reaching other tipping points, including the dieback of the Amazon, the collapse of major ocean currents and the loss of ice sheets. This underlines the extreme urgency of stopping producing and burning fossil fuels – the root cause of human-made global warming.
Here we look back at some highlights from our campaigning year – and send thanks to everyone who has been part of it.
We have submitted a damning response to the government consultation on the revised Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Rosebank oil field, a reassessment triggered when the Scottish courts ruled the previous approval unlawful. This was a direct consequence of our 2024 Supreme Court win (Finch v Surrey County Council), which established that downstream “scope 3” emissions must be fully assessed for fossil fuel developments.
Continue reading “Weald Action Group response to the consultation on Rosebank”