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Uplift (campaign organisation)

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Uplift
Founded2020
TypeLegal, research and campaign organisation
Legal statusActive
PurposeJust transition from UK oil and gas production
HeadquartersLondon, England
Region served
United Kingdom
FieldsFossil fuel phase-out
Just transition
Key people
Tessa Khan (Executive Director)
Robert Palmer (Deputy Director)
AffiliationsAPPG on Climate Change (UK Parliament)
AwardsClimate Breakthrough (Tessa Khan, 2018)
Websiteupliftuk.org

Uplift is a legal, research and campaign organisation in the UK that works towards a just transition away from oil and gas production. Founded in 2020 by Tessa Khan, the organisation coordinates the Stop Rosebank campaign against the Rosebank oil field and serves as secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change in the UK Parliament.

History

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Uplift was established in 2020 by Tessa Khan, who had previously co-founded the Climate Litigation Network.[1][2] The organisation was created to campaign specifically on the politics of ending new North Sea oil and gas development in the UK, combining research with legal, parliamentary and public engagement.

The UK is among the largest oil and gas producers in Europe. Uplift's founding position is that continued licensing of new fossil fuel fields is incompatible with the UK's obligations under the Paris Agreement and its domestic net zero commitments, a position echoed by others.[3][4][5]

Activities

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In December 2023, Uplift and Greenpeace UK brought judicial review proceedings in the Court of Session in Edinburgh,[6] challenging the approval of the Rosebank[7] and Jackdaw[8] offshore oil and gas developments. The claimants argued that the environmental impact assessments had failed to account for downstream (scope 3) greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of the extracted oil and gas.[9]

A "Stop Rosebank" protest at Jubilee Gardens, Lambeth, London (November 2022)
A "Stop Rosebank" protest at Jubilee Gardens, Lambeth (November 2022)

In August 2024, the UK government conceded that the original decisions were unlawful, following the UK Supreme Court's ruling in Finch v Surrey County Council, which established that environmental impact assessments must include downstream emissions.[10] In January 2025, the Court of Session ruled in Uplift's favour, finding the original consents unlawful, and ordering that both fields must seek fresh approval incorporating their downstream emissions before any oil or gas could be extracted.[11]

In January 2026, Uplift published legal advice arguing that approving Rosebank would risk breaching the Geneva Conventions on the grounds that Delek Group – the Israeli majority shareholder in Ithaca Energy, which holds a 20% stake in the field – appears on a UN human rights database of businesses linked to illegal settlements in the West Bank.[12]

Research

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Uplift produces reports and briefings on the economics of North Sea oil and gas, energy security, and the fiscal and climate case for ending new licensing.[13] For example, Uplift research in 2025 found that new licences issued across five licensing rounds in the previous decade had delivered just 16 days' worth of gas.[14] Its research has also been submitted as written evidence to parliamentary committees.[15]

Campaigns

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Uplift coordinates the Stop Rosebank campaign, which opposes the development of the Rosebank oil and gas field, the largest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea, located west of the Shetland Islands.[16]

Friends of the Earth Scotland and "Stop Cambo" activists outside the UK Government's COP26 hub, Glasgow (November 2021)
Friends of the Earth Scotland and "Stop Cambo" activists outside the UK Government's COP26 hub, Glasgow (November 2021)

Alongside Friends of the Earth Scotland and others, Uplift previously played a central role in the Stop Cambo campaign,[17] which pressured Shell to withdraw from the Cambo oil field development in 2021.[18][19][20]

Uplift was a founding member of Warm This Winter,[21] a coalition of anti-poverty, health and environmental organisations formed in 2022 in response to the UK energy crisis,[22] which campaigned for emergency energy bill support, home insulation and an end to new oil and gas licensing, and ran until 2024.

Political advocacy

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Uplift serves as the secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change, known as the Climate APPG.[23][24] Following the 2024 general election, the group is chaired by Luke Murphy[25] and its vice-chairs are Pippa Heylings,[26] Carla Denyer and Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park.[27] The APPG brings together MPs and peers from across parties to engage with climate and energy policy, hear from expert witnesses, and maintain a sustained parliamentary presence on fossil fuels phase-out.

Organisation

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Uplift is a hosted project of the hosting organisation, The Social Change Nest.[28] Its executive director is Tessa Khan,[29] named by Time as one of the top women climate leaders in 2019.[30] Robert Palmer is deputy director.[31][32] Its staff includes lawyers, researchers, political advisers and campaigners with backgrounds in climate litigation, parliamentary engagement and community organising.[33]

The organisation is supported by the European Climate Foundation, Oak Foundation, KR Foundation, Oceans 5, Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation and Climate Change Collaboration. It does not accept funding from governments or energy companies.[34]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Mureithi, Anita (6 September 2024). "Q&A: Tessa Khan, climate change lawyer and founder of Uplift". Hyphen. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  2. ↑ Rickards, Charlotte (12 November 2021). "Women in Climate Change: Tessa Khan". Country and Town House. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  3. ↑ Muttitt, Greg (10 June 2025). "New oil and gas fields incompatible with Paris climate goals". UCL News. University College London. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Harvey, Fiona (15 February 2022). "New North Sea oil and gas licences 'incompatible with UK climate goals'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  5. ↑ Harvey, Fiona (18 May 2021). "No new oil, gas or coal development if world is to reach net zero by 2050, says world energy body". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "Greenpeace legal challenge to Rosebank oil field given go-ahead". BBC News. 2024-09-25. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
  7. ↑ "Government backs new oil and gas to safeguard UK and grow the economy". Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. UK Government. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "Shell's Jackdaw gas field given go-ahead by regulators". BBC News. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "Greenpeace UK and Uplift v. Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero". Climate Litigation Database. Columbia Law School: Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "R (Finch on behalf of the Weald Action Group) v Surrey County Council". UK Supreme Court. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  11. ↑ Cook, James (30 January 2025). "New oil and gas field consent was unlawful – judge". BBC News. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  12. ↑ Cook, James; Berkley, Cara (29 January 2026). "Rosebank oil field 'could breach international law' over West Bank link". BBC News. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  13. ↑ Khan, Tessa; Jones, Daniel (16 July 2024). "The future of the North Sea: Three priorities for the UK Government". Uplift. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  14. ↑ Dambacher, Brook (5 March 2025). "The future of the North Sea". Uplift. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  15. ↑ "Written evidence submitted by Uplift (WFP0059)". Inquiry into workforce planning to deliver clean, secure energy. UK Parliament: Energy Security and Net Zero Committee. January 2025. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  16. ↑ Kirka, Danica; Lawless, Jill. "Britain approves new North Sea oil drilling". PBS. Associated Press. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  17. ↑ Garton-Crosbie, Abbi (10 December 2021). "Stop Cambo architect Tessa Khan on the 'chaotic collapse' of the oil industry". The National. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "Cambo oil field development off Shetland to be paused". BBC News. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  19. ↑ Keane, Kevin (2022-03-22). "Why Cambo oilfield is a difficult gamble for Shell". BBC News. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
  20. ↑ Jack, Simon (22 March 2022). "Shell reconsiders its exit from oil field off Shetland". BBC News. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  21. ↑ "Warm This Winter is ending: Here's what's next". Warm This Winter. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  22. ↑ Bolton, Paul (27 May 2026). "Gas and electricity prices during the 'energy crisis' and beyond". House of Commons Library. House of Commons. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "All-Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change". Register of All-Party Parliamentary Groups. UK Parliament. 23 February 2026. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  24. ↑ "Climate APPG Annual Report 2024–25". Climate APPG. 9 September 2025. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  25. ↑ "Climate Change". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 782. House of Commons. 19 March 2026. col. 1079–1099.
  26. ↑ Pippa Heylings (24 March 2026). "Oil and Gas". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 783. House of Commons. col. 185. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  27. ↑ "Climate APPG: Who we are". Climate APPG. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  28. ↑ "Our Story". The Social Change Nest CIC. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  29. ↑ Khan, Tessa (24 July 2024). "It's easy to blame petrostates – but self-proclaimed 'climate leaders' like the US and UK are driving the crisis". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  30. ↑ "Meet 15 women leading the fight against climate change". TIME. pp. TIME USA LLC. Archived from the original on 22 July 2025. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  31. ↑ Harvey, Fiona (10 March 2026). "Scrapping North Sea windfall tax would not reduce UK energy bills, say experts". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  32. ↑ "Reform calls for 'every last drop' of oil and gas to be extracted in UK". Eastern Daily Press. PA News Agency. 8 April 2026. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  33. ↑ "About Us". Uplift. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  34. ↑ "Our Supporters". Uplift. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
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