For the second time, the government suffered a defeat in court for failing to reach its greenhouse gas emission reduction objectives.
Environmentalists said that the energy minister approved the government’s climate strategy without providing proof that it could be implemented.
On Friday, the High Court ordered that the administration must redraw the plan.
In response, the administration defended its record on climate action.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero stated, “The United Kingdom can be quite proud of its climate change record. We do not feel that a legal case concerning process is the best approach to go forward with our common objective of attaining net zero.”
Environmental groups Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth, and The Good Law Project filed the court challenge.
According to Tony Bosworth, head campaigner of Friends of the Earth, it was “an embarrassing day for the government”.
In an interview with the BBC, he said: “What we now need to see is a climate plan which is robust, which is comprehensive and which is fair, which makes sure we meet all our climate targets, and which does that in a way which doesn’t leave anybody behind.”
The three groups previously won a lawsuit against the government in 2022, claiming that its Net Zero Plan was insufficient to describe how the UK will reduce its emissions in accordance with the Climate Change Act.
In response, the government released a plan outlining how each of its measures will reduce emissions.
However, protesters claim that former Energy Secretary Grant Shapps did not assess the dangers of implementing the plan and signed it off expecting all of the principles would be met.
In his decision, Mr Justice Sheldon stated: “It is not possible to ascertain from the materials presented to the Secretary of State which of the proposals and policies would not be delivered at all, or in full.”
Later on Friday, the court is anticipated to set a timetable for assessing the plan.
When asked about the verdict, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he had not read it in full but was “proud of our track record” on climate change.
Ed Miliband, Labour’s opposition secretary of state for climate change and net zero, responded to the High Court’s decision, saying it marked a new low for “a government that has completely failed on energy and climate for fourteen years.”
The government had already been advised that the plan was insufficient by its own climate watchdog.
When the revised plan was revealed in March 2023, the UK Climate Change Committee (UKCCC) stated that it was even less confident in the government’s ability to meet its climate targets than before it was published.
The UK aims to cut emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. However, the UKCCC predicted that the government’s proposal would only provide one-fifth of the carbon reductions required over the next decade.
It stated in regard to the 2023 plan: “Despite over 3,000 pages of new detail, [our] confidence in the UK meeting its goals from 2030 onwards is now markedly less than it was in our previous assessment a year ago.”
The committee specifically attacked the government’s inability to boost sustainable energy, as well as its backing for new fossil fuel projects.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced 100 additional North Sea oil and gas licences in July 2023, citing the need to safeguard employment and energy security in the UK. The International Energy Agency has previously said that new oil and gas projects are unnecessary to fulfil global energy needs.
Source: Esme Stallard, Climate and science reporter, BBC News
