A legal challenge over the decision to give consent to the UK’s largest untapped oil field is set to begin. A judicial review brought jointly by the environment groups Greenpeace and Uplift is due to be heard at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

The UK government has admitted in court that the country's largest untapped oilfield, Rosebank off Shetland, was approved unlawfully. The move came during a case brought by climate campaigners against both Rosebank and the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea.

Earlier this year, the U.K.'s Labour government acknowledged the previous Conservative government's approval of the Rosebank project without considering whether its full climate impact was unlawful. If the plaintiffs are successful, the landmark case could help establish a precedent for all new oil and gas development.

Two environmental groups kicked off a legal challenge in Scotland on Tuesday to block the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the North Sea, with activists optimistic of success.Regulatory approval for drilling at the Rosebank oil field,

Operators Shell and Equinor have argued Jackdaw and Rosebank should continue given the enormous sums already invested.

Two environmental groups are set to have their legal challenge against the Rosebank and Jackdaw offshore oil and gas fields in the North Sea heard in court on Tuesday. Greenpeace UK and Uplift will argue the impact of emissions from burning the oil and gas extracted from the fields were illegally ignored when they were approved in the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

The consent for drilling at Rosebank was granted in September 2023, while Shell's Jackdaw field received approval in 2022.