Friends of the Earth, Client Earth and the Good Law Project sued the government for having an illegal strategy. In July 2022 the High court agreed. The Climate Change Act requires Government to hit Net Zero by 2050, to make proposals as to how it will meet that target, and to place a report before Parliament. The High Court held that the proposals for achieving Net Zero approved by the Secretary of State were too vague to enable him to be satisfied that the statutory targets would be met. And that the report placed before Parliament lacked the specificity necessary to meet the Secretary of State’s duty to inform Parliament and the public of his plans.
The Government has confirmed today – 13th October – in a letter to the Court and the parties involved in the case – that it will not pursue an appeal against the High Court ruling that it’s Net Zero strategy is unlawful. Thus they accept the strategy is unlawful. You can find out what good looks like at our FREE carbon literacy training on 7th November.
