An environmental NGO Said it failed to secure permission to challenge a UK government decision to facilitate investment of up to $1.15 billion in a Mozambique gas fieldThe southern African country officially began exporting liquefied natural gas in November, and the deposits could make Mozambique one of the 10 biggest exporters in the world.Environmental campaigners on Thursday said they had failed to secure permission to challenge a UK government decision to facilitate investment of up to $1.
"It has been estimated that the total emissions for the new gas field could total some 4.5 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases over its lifetime... and these were not calculated as part of the government's approval process or evaluated against global climate goals," it said.Vast deposits of natural gas were discovered in northern Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province in 2010.
Total, Eni and ExxonMobil are all developing projects, but the impoverished, predominantly Muslim province of Cabo Delgado has been plagued by attacks from jihadist groups that have killed thousands and displaced many more."The development of the Mozambique gas industry is believed to be a key factor fuelling instability that has led to violence, deaths and displacement of almost one million refugees.
UKEF welcomed the Supreme Court's decision said a spokesperson, who added that the three judges at the previous Court of Appeal hearing had unanimously concluded it had"acted lawfully in deciding to support the Liquified Natural Gas project in Mozambique".