Friends of the Earth, which challenged government funding of $1.15bn for a major gas project in Mozambique, has lodged an appeal at the UK’s highest court.
The environmental campaign group lost its case over the climate impact of the project at the high and appeal courts.
It argued that approval of the funding was unlawful because it failed to take into account the emissions resulting from burning the gas or how these emissions would affect globally-agreed climate goals.
The appeal court judges ruled last month that it was for ministers, not judges, to decide whether projects aligned with the Paris climate agreement.
There’s been no progress on the project, run by TotalEnergies, since 2021 because of conflict and insecurity in Cabo Delgado region.
Total’s chief executive Patrick Pouyanne, visited the site of the project this month to assess the security situation.
The company reported revenue of more than $263bn for the 12 months to the end of September 2022. This was a 43% increase on the previous year.
Friends of the Earth said more than a million people had been displaced. Farming and fishing communities have lost their lands and livelihoods, it said.