High Court rules UK's latest climate targets unlawfully 'vague' May 5, 2024

Sunak has faced persistent criticism that he is weakening the country's commitment to net-zero emissions targets.

By AFP - Agence France Presse

High Court rules UK's latest climate targets unlawfully 'vague'

The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the UK government acted unlawfully by approving elements of its plans to achieve net zero emissions targets based on "vague and unquantified" information.

It is the second time in two years that the court has ruled that ministers were not following the UK's climate change laws. A judge made a similar ruling in 2022.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in power since October of that year, has faced persistent criticism that he is weakening the country's commitment to net zero targets after a series of U-turns on climate policy.

Friday's decision was prompted by a legal challenge by campaign groups Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth, and the Good Law Project. This means that ministers must reformulate part of their net zero plans.

"This is another embarrassing defeat for the government and its reckless and inadequate climate plans," said Friends of the Earth lawyer Katie de Kauwe.

The groups have taken joint legal action against the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero over its decision in March 2023 to approve the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan (CBDP).

The plan outlines how the UK will meet the targets of the country's so-called carbon budget, which runs until 2037, as part of wider efforts to reach net zero by 2050.

They argued that the relevant secretary of state at the time, Grant Shapps, lacked important information about the possibility of implementing individual policies, but approved them anyway.

This violated the Climate Change Act of 2008, which requires due diligence regarding emissions reduction targets and strategies, the groups said.

Supreme Court Justice Clive Sheldon agreed, calling the plan presented to Shapps for approval "vague and unquantified" and saying there was "insufficient" information.

"It is not possible to determine... which of the proposals and policies would not be complied with, or would not be complied with in their entirety," he concluded.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero insisted that "the allegations, in this case, were largely about process and the judgment contains no criticism of the detailed plans we have in place".

"We do not believe that a lawsuit about process represents the best way to drive progress towards our shared goal of achieving net zero," the spokesperson added.

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