Sarah Finch receives Goldman Environmental Prize over Supreme Court judgment

Sarah was presented with the global accolade at a ceremony in San Francisco along with other select winners of the prestigious prize from across the world.

Sarah, who is represented by Leigh Day solicitors Rowan Smith and Julia Eriksen, led a five-year court campaign with Weald Action Group against the Horse Hill drilling operations. 

The resulting Supreme Court ruling on the case overturned planning permission for the drilling and set a legal precedent known as the ‘Finch ruling’, which has proved instrumental in stopping further fossil fuel extraction projects.  

The Goldman Environmental Prize is a yearly award which recognises the achievements of grassroots environmental activists across the world.  

The award goes to six people annually from Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and Central and South America. Sarah received this year’s prize for Europe.  

Sarah initially began her case in 2019 after launching a judicial review challenge against the council over its decision to approve the Horse Hill drilling operation.

After seeing the claim turned away by the High Court and Court of Appeal, Sarah took her case to the Supreme Court. In June 2024, it ruled that Surrey County Council should have assessed downstream emissions (emissions from the burning of the oil set to be extracted from the site) when reviewing the planning application.  

This ruling has since set a precedent for other fossil fuel extraction developments, meaning that developers and planning authorities must take into account downstream greenhouse gas emissions.  

The impacts of the ruling have been widespread in the UK, with multiple fossil fuel developments including an oil development in Biscathorpe, Lincolnshire, and a coal mine in Whitehaven, Cumbria, having since had planning permission withdrawn based on the Finch ruling. Leigh Day acted on behalf of campaigners in both these cases.  

The awarding of the Goldman Environmental Prize is international recognition for Sarah’s campaigning and work to secure this ruling.  

The accolade was established in 1989 by San Francisco civic leaders and philanthropists Richard and Rhoda Goldman, with winners selected by an international jury.  

Other winners this year include Yuvelis Morales Blanco (Colombia), Alannah Acaq Hurley (United States), Theonila Roka Matbob (Papua New Guinea), Borim Kim (South Korea), and Iroro Tanshi (Nigeria). 

Sarah Finch said: 

“It is a huge honour to receive the Goldman Prize. I'm proud to accept it on behalf of the Weald Action Group and communities everywhere who are fighting to keep fossil fuels in the ground. The science is crystal clear that we can't extract any more coal, oil or gas if we want to keep within safe climate limits and I'm glad our win will mean better planning decisions on this issue. I thank everyone who was part of the long campaign to win this result, and my lawyers for their commitment and hard work.”  

Leigh Day solicitor Rowan Smith, who represents Sarah, said: 

“This prize is thoroughly deserved recognition of the tireless work Sarah put into campaigning to secure the landmark Supreme Court judgment in 2024, in the face of knock-backs in both the High Court and Court of Appeal. The judgment set a powerful legal precedent for the halting of numerous other fossil fuel developments across the UK, and has been a key victory in fighting climate change in the courts. We are proud to have worked with Sarah at Leigh Day, and of the impacts that this judgment has already gone on to have.”