Clifford Chance

New EIA Guidance for assessing Scope 3 Emissions in UK Offshore Oil and Gas Projects

25 June 2025

On 19 June 2025, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) published supplementary guidance for environmental impact assessments (EIAs) on assessing the effects of downstream scope 3 emissions on climate from offshore oil and gas projects (Guidance).

The Guidance aims to clarify how such emissions should be addressed in EIAs and enables the resumption of the EIA process for offshore production projects, which had been paused since the landmark UK Supreme Court decision in Finch. This briefing outlines the key elements of the Guidance and considers its implications for developers.

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