- Home
- News & insights
- Insights
- Climate change litigation
- On this page
29 July 2022
Disputes Quick Read – 45 of 98 Insights
Disputes Quick Read: Climate change litigation – successful challenge to government's Net Zero Strategy
- Quick read
The High Court has held that the government's Net Zero Strategy is unlawful and, in some respects, inadequate. The government has been ordered to produce a new, more detailed version of the Net Zero Strategy by March 2023.
The challenge, made by Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth and Good Law Project, was that in setting the Net Zero Strategy, the Secretary of State had not acted in accordance with their legal duties, as laid down in the Climate Change Act 2008.
The Climate Change Act (CCA) requires the government to achieve net zero by 2050. The Act also imposes shorter-term obligations on the Secretary of State: they must set a carbon budget every five-years and publish policies on how they will meet these budgets. These policies (ie the Net Zero Strategy) must be presented to Parliament.
The main grounds of challenge were that:
- the Secretary of State had not been fully briefed by their department before signing off the Net Zero Strategy
- the Net Zero Strategy did not contain enough information about how the policies would reach net zero.
The claimants won on both grounds.
The Secretary of State had been legally obliged to consider certain information when setting the Net Zero Strategy, including:
- the amount by which each policy was expected to reduce emissions
- which policies were being relied on to make up a 5% shortfall in the carbon budget.
This information was missing from the Secretary of State's briefing, and therefore they could not have taken it into account when the Net Zero Strategy was approved. This was unlawful.
The same information was also missing from the Net Zero Strategy itself. This meant that Parliament, and the wider public, were not able to properly understand how the government intended to meet its statutory net zero target. The court concluded that the Net Zero Strategy was too vague and needed to be published again with more detail.
Comment
The decision is noteworthy because the Court has intervened and ordered the government to republish the Net Zero Strategy with more detail.
The judge emphasised that the Court's role is to ensure that the government follows the procedure laid down in the CCA. It is not to review the efficacy of the policies in the Net Zero Strategy, or to make political, social or economic choices about how to achieve net zero.
Nevertheless, in this case the CCA was interpreted in a way that placed a more substantial burden on the Secretary of State regarding the way in which the Net Zero Strategy was reached.
When writing about this case in March this year, we predicted that judges might be cautious about taking on that sort of mandate quite so soon. This decision demonstrates, however, that attitudes towards climate-related disputes are developing and that courts may be more receptive to these types of challenges in the future. Specifically, it shows an increasing acceptance by the UK judiciary of a supervisory role over the government's progress towards net zero, by ensuring meaningful compliance with the CCA.
Courts elsewhere in the world have also proved willing to uphold climate change challenges against governments. Most notably, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled in 2019 in Urgenda that the Dutch Government has a legal duty to take climate mitigation measures, and to reduce emissions by 25% by 2020 (compared with 1990 levels).
This case was not as groundbreaking as Urgenda, but it fits into a general global trend of courts playing an increasing role in the fight against climate change.
A full judgment and a summary of the judgment can be found here.
In this series
Victory for energy companies/defeat for the environment?
14 November 2024
Failure to prevent fraud offence to come into force in September 2025
14 November 2024
by Emma Allen
Essex Cricket Club charged by Cricket Regulator
30 October 2024
by Multiple authors
UK introduces mandatory reimbursement rules to combat APP fraud
15 October 2024
New SFO Director announces bold plans to tackle fraud
21 March 2024
by Emma Allen, Amy Cheng
First of its kind judicial guidance on the use of AI in the courts
14 December 2023
Witness familiarisation - does it affect the court's assessment of witness credibility?
13 December 2023
The use of AI in Trial Witness Statements post-PD 57AC
23 October 2023
by Multiple authors
CAT to hear the first application for a collective settlement approval order
17 October 2023
Pre-Action Protocols – what is different?
12 September 2023
by Tom Charnley
Failure to prevent fraud – a new offence?
14 August 2023
by Multiple authors
Supreme Court rules that APP fraud victims cannot rely on Quincecare Duty
4 August 2023
by Multiple authors
The Law Commission's Consultation Process on the Arbitration Act 1996 – taking stock
21 July 2023
What does the latest decision of the CAT in the Mastercard/Visa proceedings mean for class actions?
10 July 2023
Disputes Quick Read: ClientEarth refused permission to pursue directors of Shell
1 June 2023
by Multiple authors
Disputes Quick Read – developments in the fixed costs regime
3 May 2023
by James Bryden
Disputes Quick Read: Service by email – are the rules any clearer?
20 April 2023
by James Bryden
Disputes Quick Read - What do practitioners think about making alternative dispute resolution (ADR) compulsory?
8 March 2023
Disputes Quick Read: What are the litigation trends for 2023?
2 March 2023
Disputes Quick Read: further guidance on witness statement preparation rules
14 February 2023
Disputes Quick Read: A cautionary tale – settlement agreement (un)wittingly releases all claims for fraud
13 February 2023
Disputes Quick Read: Why the UK should join the Hague Judgments Convention 2019
8 February 2023
Disputes Quick Read: extensive information orders granted against crypto exchanges following hack
19 January 2023
Disputes Quick Read: A new approach to giving evidence? WhatsApp with that?
3 October 2022
Disputes Quick Read: Ethereum Merge - what legal issues arise?
22 September 2022
by Ben Jones, Emma Allen
Disputes Quick Read: New obligations on cryptobusinesses to report under the UK sanctions regime
9 August 2022
by Nick Maday
Disputes Quick Read: Disclosure - What information can be redacted?
25 July 2022
Disputes Quick Read: what claims exist when a smart contract is breached?
6 July 2022
by Emma Allen
Disputes Quick Read: New gateway for serving Norwich Pharmacal Orders and Bankers Trust orders out of the jurisdiction
Welcome news for those pursuing fraud claims in the English Courts
28 July 2022
Disputes Quick Read: Defining the duty - the limits of the responsibility assumed by professionals
27 July 2022
by Stuart Broom
Disputes Quick Read: Climate change litigation – successful challenge to government's Net Zero Strategy
29 July 2022
Disputes Quick Read: Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 – now in force
17 June 2022
Disputes Quick Read: an important reminder of the duty to disclose electronic documents in native format
13 June 2022
Disputes Quick Read: ENRC prevails in claim against former solicitor
26 May 2022
Disputes Quick Read: Climate change litigation update – McGaughey v Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited
31 May 2022
by Multiple authors
Don't lose your keys: Bitcoin developers do not have a duty to assist owners in recovering lost cryptocurrency
4 April 2022
Disputes Quick Read: The new witness statement preparation rules – a year on
5 April 2022
Disputes Quick Read: ClientEarth v Shell – climate change litigation shifts focus to UK companies
31 March 2022
by Multiple authors
Disputes Quick Read: High Court rules that failure to provide adequate data security is not a positive act
21 September 2021
by Multiple authors
Disputes Quick Read: Key changes to the Disclosure Pilot Scheme
13 September 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Judicial Review and Courts Bill – unpacking the UK government's proposed amendments
6 September 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Will litigants be compelled to participate in alternative dispute resolution?
2 August 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Freezing injunctions – maximum custodial sentence imposed for breach
21 July 2021
Disputes Quick Read: The online future of civil justice – the end of the legal profession or the end of legal drudgery?
15 July 2021
by Jess Thomas
Disputes Quick Read: Will the courts change forever post-COVID?
26 May 2021
Disputes Quick Read: One Blackfriars administrators cleared of misfeasance
5 May 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Not your prerogative – the Independent Review of Administrative Law reports its recommendations on judicial review
21 April 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Amendments to the Disclosure Pilot Scheme – a step in the right direction
31 March 2021
Disputes Quick Read: UK Supreme Court rules on the territorial extent of the SFO's powers
26 February 2021
by Tim Strong
Disputes Quick Read: No dropping anchor – parent company liability for environmental claims
24 February 2021
Disputes Quick Read: What lawyers need to know about new witness statement preparation rules
20 January 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Should you still choose the English courts to have jurisdiction in your international contracts after Brexit?
12 January 2021
by Tim Strong
Disputes Quick Read: Privilege lost in the EU post-Brexit (with exceptions)
23 November 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Law on interest applicable to US dollar awards reaffirmed
16 October 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Care required when drafting SPA claim notices
23 September 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Why the modernised LCIA rules are a welcome update
7 October 2020
by Nick Storrs
Disputes Quick Read: COVID-19 and supply chain disruption – key issues
9 April 2020
by Multiple authors
Disputes Quick Read: High Court orders parties to explore options for 5-week remote trial
15 April 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Tomlin Orders – ensuring the confidentiality of settlement terms
27 April 2020
by Multiple authors
Disputes Quick Read: UK's OFSI fines Standard Chartered Bank £20 million for sanctions breaches
21 April 2020
Disputes Quick Read: A different approach to witness evidence
11 March 2020
by James Bryden
Disputes Quick Read: Coronavirus - a growth in virtual courts?
17 March 2020
by Stuart Broom
Disputes quick read: climate change activism by litigation
26 February 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Commercial Court's arbitral power shift
21 February 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Court stays evictions during COVID-19 – is this lawful?
2 June 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Will the civil justice system change forever post COVID-19?
16 June 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Retailers reign supreme in Visa and Mastercard proceedings
9 July 2020
Disputes Quick Read: The contra proferentem rule reconsidered?
21 July 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Scope of duty and the SAAMCo counterfactual following Manchester Building Society
3 December 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Facilitating transactions in cryptoassets - Lord Leggatt and the point of commercial law
24 November 2021
by Stuart Broom
Disputes Quick Read: Privy Council clarifies the law on freezing injunctions in aid of foreign proceedings
8 October 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Climate change litigation – what's the latest?
10 January 2022
Disputes Quick Read: Court decisions on the Disclosure Pilot Scheme – the 2021 roundup
20 January 2022
Disputes Quick Read: Assumption of responsibility - tax schemes and investors
22 March 2022
Disputes Quick Read: Dealing in crypto? Be careful what you call it
7 April 2022
Related Insights
Disputes Quick Read: ClientEarth refused permission to pursue directors of Shell
by multiple authors
Climate change litigation update – ClientEarth issues claim against Shell's directors
by multiple authors
Disputes Quick Read: Climate change litigation update – McGaughey v Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited
by multiple authors