In a significant legal challenge led by three environmental campaign groups, London's High Court ruled on Friday that Britain's most recent climate action plan is unlawful due to
deficiencies in meeting emissions targets.
The legal action, brought forth by Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth, and the Good Law Project, stemmed from concerns over carbon budgets established by the government in 2023 to achieve Britain's ambitious goal of net zero emissions by 2050. These targets were set following a previous ruling in 2022 that found Britain in violation of legislation aimed at fulfilling the objectives of the 2015 Paris Agreement, particularly the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The plaintiffs argued that the new climate plan exhibited several unlawful aspects, highlighting, for instance, the failure to inform the then energy minister, Grant Shapps, about the potential risks associated with implementing emission reduction policies.
In a written ruling, Judge Clive Sheldon upheld four of the five grounds presented in the legal challenge. Specifically, the court found that officials had inaccurately informed Shapps that all proposed policies and measures aimed at reducing emissions would be fully implemented, a premise deemed unlawful by the High Court.
David Wolfe, representing Friends of the Earth, pointed out that the UK's Climate Change Committee had previously warned that credible policies were in place for less than 20% of the necessary emissions reductions outlined in the carbon budget for the period 2033-2037. Despite this, Shapps proceeded under the assumption that all proposed measures would be executed in full, a stance deemed unsupported by the court's ruling.
Representatives of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero contended that Shapps had not assumed full delivery of emission reductions. Nevertheless, the court concluded that officials had misled Shapps by assuring him that each proposed policy would be fully implemented, thereby rendering the carbon budget delivery plan unlawful.
The court's decision underscores the imperative for robust and transparent climate action strategies to effectively combat climate change and achieve crucial emissions reduction targets. Photo by Bjørn Erik Pedersen, Wikimedia commons.