Emissions in the United Kingdom are double the permissive level for 2035, our net zero strategy is in tatters – and the government is failing to do anything about it.
Two high-profile environmental organisations are suing the UK government, claiming that it has failed to properly implement its net zero climate strategy.
Separate legal proceedings were initiated by the groups ClientEarth and Friends of the Earth against Whitehall, disputing the government’s strategy.
The groups claim the UK government is not meeting pledges made at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), held last November, and neglect to reasonably account for the significant rise in emissions.
Client Earth also argues that the failure to meet legal carbon budgets is in breach of the Human Rights Act, affecting young people’s right to life and family life. The group states that the government “has breached its legal obligations under the Climate Change Act to demonstrate its policies will reduce emissions enough to meet the legally binding carbon budgets.”
UK emissions are currently double the permissive level for 2035 and the net zero-strategy has presented no targets for 2025 or 2030.
The government’s net zero strategy was published in October 2021 and committed to ending the sale of new fossil fuel cars by 2030, along with gas boilers by 2035; however, the strategy did not explain how this would happen or specify the reduction in emissions that was expected to be achieved in each sector and, according to lawyers, relied on unproven technologies.
“Not only does the net zero strategy lack sufficient policies and rely on unproven technologies, it overlooks near-term solutions that would have immediate impact, including those recommended by the government’s own advisors, the Climate Change Committee,” stated ClientEarth.
Both ClientEarth and Friends of the Earth have defeated the government previously, with ClientEarth winning three cases over inadequate air pollution polices.
The Friends of the Earth lawsuit also calls into question another government strategy on heat and buildings, contending that it does not take into account the impact on groups protected by the law, including children, people of color, and those with disabilities.
The environmental group revealed previously that people of color were two times as likely to be living in fuel poverty compared to white people.
“We know that those who do least to cause climate breakdown are too often the hardest hit,” said Katie de Kauwe, a lawyer for Friends of the Earth.
“Climate action must be based on reversing these inequalities, by designing the transition with the most vulnerable in mind. Not even considering the implications of the heat and building strategy on such groups is quite shocking.”
The Climate Change Committee, official advisors of the government, claimed that the net zero strategy was the most thorough among members of the G20. However, it pointed out that “[t]he government has not quantified the effect of each policy and proposal on emissions. So […] it is not clear how the mix of policies will deliver on its ambitions.”
