The UK government is currently being sued over its net-zero climate strategy. Lawyers argue that it does not include the policies required to deliver the promised emissions cuts.
ClientEarth (CE), and Friends of the Earth (FoE) filed court papers on Wednesday. CE claims that the failure to meet legal emissions budgets would violate the Human Rights Act, affecting young people’s rights to life and family.
In October, the net zero strategy was released. It included commitments to stop the sale of new fossil fuel cars by 2030, and gas boilers by 2035. It did not specify how the strategy would be implemented or the reductions in emissions that would be achieved in each sector. According to lawyers, it relied instead on speculative technology such as zero-carbon aviation fuels or extracting carbon dioxide from the air and burying the gas.
ClientEarth has beaten the government three times in court over ineffective air pollution policies. Friends of the Earth’s court victories include a case about the costs of bringing environmental claims against ministers.
Both CE as FoE believe that the Climate Change Act requires ministers, after having established carbon budgets, to develop policies to meet them. The net zero strategy’s assessment shows that UK emissions are at double the allowed level in 2035 and is also below targets in 2025, 2030.
According to CE lawyer Sam Hunter Jones, a net zero strategy should include real-world strategies that make it work. Anything less is not in compliance with the governments legal obligations and amounts greenwashing and climate delay. The government’s “pie-in the sky” approach to climate change puts the burden on the young and future generations.
FoE also claims that another government strategy on heat and buildings failed to assess its effect on protected groups, including children and people of color. FoE found previouslyIt was twice as likely for people of color to be living in fuel poverty than white people.
Katie de Kauwe (FoE lawyer) said that it is well-known that those who are least likely to contribute to climate change are often the ones most affected. Climate action must be based upon reversing these inequalities and designing the transition with those most vulnerable in mind. It is shocking to think about the impact of heat and building strategy on these groups.
The official advisors of the government, the Climate Change Committee(CCC), stated that October’s net zero strategy was a major step forward and one of the most comprehensive among G20 countries. Its assessment stated that the government had not quantified the impact of each policy or proposal on emissions. It is therefore unclear how the mix and combination of policies will meet its ambitions.
CCC pointed out a lack in policies on energy efficiency for homes after a botched grant scheme on green homes. It also highlighted policies on farming and on reducing meat and dairy consumption and the number taken by planes. Chris Stark, CCC chief executive, stated that this is a very market-driven strategy. We’ll see how it goes.
Hunter Jones said that while the government should encourage innovation and invest, the strategy’s early stage solutions won’t be enough to make up the shortfall in credible near-term actions.
He said that energy bills are on the rise due to the UK’s dependence on fossil gas heating and low insulation. People are paying higher bills because of the failure of the government to take real climate action.
After the filing and submission of the defense, the high courts will decide whether or not to grant full hearings.
A spokesperson for the government stated that the net zero strategy outlines specific, detailed steps we will take to transition from a high-carbon economy to one that is clean and secure. It also supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and leverages private investment up to 90bn by 2030.