Overview
A group of environmental NGOs, including ClientEarth, Greenpeace and WWF, have issued legal proceedings against the authorities in Flanders, Belgium, to challenge the approval of a new plastics manufacturing facility at the Port of Antwerp. The case is yet another example of the trend within environment and climate change litigation to focus not simply on the environmental impact of constructing new facilities, but on the environment and climate change impact of the products that will be put onto the market through its operation, even when those impacts may occur elsewhere.
The development proposal, which INEOS Olefins Belgium calls 'Project ONE', is promoted by company INEOS as delivering a sustainable ethane cracker with lowest carbon footprint in Europe, significantly reducing the environmental impact of plastic production.
The NGOs lost an appeal lodged earlier this year, with Project ONE receiving approval from the Flemish Minster of the Environment in June 2022. The NGOs have now filed a claim in court, arguing that the application failed to address the full impact of the proposed development and subsequent plastics production on the climate, nature and surrounding air quality, and as a result, the decision to grant consent was unlawful.
In March 2022, we commented on a similar case before the English Court, arising from permissions granted for the expansion of crude oil production at an onshore extraction site. The three-judge Court of Appeal was split on whether the authorities had sufficiently considered the question of whether or not to include scrutiny of greenhouse gas emissions from the ultimate combustion of fuel produced from the crude oil further down the supply chain.
The trend is clear: environment, sustainability and climate change litigation is pushing the boundaries of existing legal precedents, increasing legal and commercial risk for businesses and their investors.
Steptoe's environmental lawyers can help businesses manage and mitigate these legal challenge risks, and help investors assess and evaluate these risks as part of their ESG investment strategies.
