UK climate strategy under scrutiny in landmark court case. July 24, 2024

Coastal erosion threatens large parts of England and Wales (Daniel LEAL)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

UK climate strategy under scrutiny in landmark court case

Clara LALANNE

The British government faced an unprecedented legal challenge on Tuesday for allegedly failing to protect people, property, and infrastructure from the likely effects of climate change.

Environmental campaigners from Friends of the Earth and two men who claim their lives have been affected by rising temperatures began a two-day trial at the High Court in London.

It is the first case in the UK following criticism of the government's climate change risk management strategy and a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice against Switzerland.

Friends of the Earth and the co-plaintiffs argue that the UK's National Adaptation Program to protect against rising temperatures, flooding or coastal erosion is inadequate and unlawful.

“For the first time in UK legal history, the High Court must determine whether the government's climate change adaptation policy is lawful, including whether our clients' human rights have been breached,” said barrister Rowan Smith.

“This is a landmark case on climate change that is likely to have far-reaching implications for future generations.”

The most recent National Adaptation Program (NAP3) dates from July 2023 and must be renewed every five years.

It sets out the government's climate adaptation goals and the plans and strategies to achieve these goals and protect communities that may be affected.

On the first day of the hearing, attorney David Wolfe, representing the activists, told the court that his job is to ensure that the government creates a clear plan by the law.

Lawyers for the claimants will argue that the Conservative government, which was defeated in the general election earlier this month, breached the 2008 Climate Change Act when drafting the directive.

The Act forms the basis of the UK's action to tackle and respond to climate change. It requires carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases to be reduced and risks to be adjusted.

- “Inadequate” -

The independent Climate Change Committee (CCC), which advises the government, has called for the NAP3 to be strengthened without delay and warned in March that it “falls far short of what is required”.

One of the two claimants in the case, Kevin Jordan, 71, saw his home on the Norfolk coast in eastern England demolished due to coastal erosion without ever receiving any government compensation.

The other, disability campaigner Doug Paulley, lives in a care home in northern England and says the hotter summers are affecting his health and increasing the risk of serious harm.

Both described NAP3 as “inadequate” and a violation of the rights of marginalized groups such as the elderly and disabled.

In April, the European Court of Human Rights issued a historic ruling against Switzerland, finding that it was not doing enough to tackle climate change.

The Elders brought the case for Climate Protection, a group of 2,500 women with an average age of 73, who denounced the “failures of the Swiss authorities” to protect the climate, which could “seriously damage” their health.

The ruling could force other governments to pursue more ambitious climate policies.

In the UK, where temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) were measured for the first time in 2022, the Conservative government rowed back on its climate pledges and, among other things, postponed the targets for the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars until 2035.

New licenses for oil and gas extraction in the North Sea were also awarded.

The CCC called on the new Labor government last week to act “swiftly” to get the country back on track to meet its 2030 climate targets.

“Only a third of the emissions reductions needed to meet the 2030 target are currently covered by credible plans,” it said.

Since taking office, the Labour Party has lifted the ban on onshore wind power projects and called the approval for a new coal mine in the UK a “miscarriage of justice”.

In a statement to AFP, the government said it would “ensure the UK is prepared for change by strengthening the resilience of government and local communities”.

“We will waste no time in achieving this by improving the durability of our infrastructure, strengthening flood defenses and planting millions of trees while boosting green growth,” the statement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said.

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