High Court will hear net zero case against government

ClientEarth, alongside Friends of the Earth and the Good Law Project, has been given permission to sue the UK Government over its net zero plans. They argue that the Government has not yet put forward policies which will be sufficient to tackle climate change and to reach the legally binding net zero target by 2050.

This all relates to the provisions of the Climate Change Act 2008 which state that the UK must reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, when compared to the 1990 baseline. As part of that, the UK sets carbon budgets for every five year period, the idea being that the budgets keep reducing in each phase so we can gradually transition towards net zero.

However, ClientEarth does not believe that the Government is taking action at the pace needed to avoid climate change, and current policies will not reduce emissions enough to meet the carbon budgets, therefore threatening the road to net zero emissions. As such, the legal case will centre around the fact that the Government is potentially in breach of the Climate Change Act 2008.

Furthermore, because progress is not being made now, it potentially means that more drastic measures will have to be taken in the future, placing more pressure and burden on future generations. This would not be in line with Government statements in October 2021 which said plans would be centred on the principle of "leaving the environment in a better state for the next generation".

ClientEarth is also arguing that:

• baseline forecasts show that projected emissions in 2037 will be more than twice the levels the Government is legally required to stick to;
• current policies rely too heavily on unproven technology;
• policies overlook viable solutions that could have an immediate impact on climate change;
• the failure of the Government to deliver climate action is pushing bills higher for people due to an over-reliance on fossil fuels and poor insulation.

Sam Hunter Jones, Senior ClientEarth Lawyer, said: "It’s not enough for the UK Government simply to have a net zero strategy, it needs to include real-world policies that ensure it succeeds. Anything less is a breach of its legal duties and amounts to greenwashing and climate delay."

ClientEarth, Friends of the Earth and the Good Law Project all filed separate claims, arguing that the legal obligations under the Climate Change Act 2008 are being breached. These cases have now been granted permission to be heard in the High Court, together, and the hearing is expected to begin later in 2022.