United Kingdom
R (oao Friends of the Earth et al) v Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (Net Zero Challenge)
Jurisdiction: High Court of Justice, England and Wales
Principle law(s): Climate Change Act
Side A: R (oao Friends of the Earth) (Ngo)
Side B: Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (Government)
Core objectives: Whether the SoS’s adoption of the Net Zero Strategy did not discharge his duties under the Climate Change Act 2008, and whether the adoption of the Heat and Buildings Strategy has meant that the SoS has breached the Equality Act 2010. In relation to ClientEarth’s and the Good Law Project’s claims: whether the SoS’s adoption of the Net Zero Strategy did not discharge his duties under the Climate Change Act 2008, and whether these duties had been interpreted compatibly with human rights obligations.
Summary
On October 19, 2021, the Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (Kwasi Kwarteng; the “SoS”) adopted the Net Zero Strategy (NZS) and the Heat and Buildings Strategy (HBS). The NZS is the Government’s economy-wide decarbonization strategy, and the HBS is the specific strategy for decarbonizing heating and homes. On January 12, 2022, Friends of the Earth England Wales and Northern Ireland (“FoE”) filed a claim for judicial review against the SoS, in relation to the NZS and the HBS. FoE argues that both strategies were unlawfully adopted.A separate claim, unrelated to the cases issued by FoE, ClientEarth and Good Law Project, was brought by claimants, Aghaji and Garforth, against the Government’s NZS alleging that the proposals and policies set out are insufficient to meet the UK’s sixth carbon budget. The claimants filed for judicial review in late March 2022 and are currently awaiting a decision on whether they have permission to proceed to a full hearing.
Case documents
Related laws and policies
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Climate Change Act
The Act provides a long-term framework to improve carbon management, to help the transition to a low carbon economy, encourage investment in low carbon goods and provide an international signal. The Act establishes a legally binding target for the UK to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net z...