An appeals court ruled Thursday that the Norwegian government can hand out oil drilling licenses in the Arctic, dealing a second blow to environmental groups that had sued against further drilling in the Barents Sea.
The court upheld a ruling that acquitted the government of charges from Nature and Youth and Greenpeace Nordic that drilling for oil and gas in Arctic waters would violate the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change and the Norwegian constitution.
The Borgarting court of appeal, said "like the district court, (it) concluded that the decision did not violate the Constitution."