We are supporting claimants, Save Hemsby Coastline, Students Organising for Sustainability UK and Tipping Point UK, some of the organisations on the frontlines of climate justice work in the UK, in an important legal action against the government over critical gaps in climate action.
This is the first ever challenge over the adequacy of the UK’s current climate framework, its roadmap and targets for reducing carbon emissions. We argue that gaps in the framework mean that the UK’s response to the climate crisis is so ineffective that it deprives us all of a right to private and family life. Despite the UK’s obligation to protect people from the serious harm climate change causes to their life, health, well-being, and quality of life.
The current framework is full of holes – shockingly it has no legally binding targets on fossil fuel production. It also has no binding targets on imported consumption (carbon emitted through the production of goods imported to the UK from other parts of the world), despite the fact that this makes up a major share of the UK’s climate footprint. It goes nowhere near far enough to limit global warming to 1.5°C, even though science shows that if all countries make the same level of effort as the UK, the world will heat by up to 3°C by the end of this century – a catastrophic scenario.
We want to push the government to do their fair share globally, and step up and build the future we all deserve.
Alongside our application, we’ve provided evidence from world-leading experts and our claimants, who represent those facing the most devastating impacts of the climate crisis
here in the UK.
The government must do everything possible to cut its emissions, not just at home, but around the world. To meet its responsibility, it must fund global emissions reductions in less wealthy countries, supporting those least responsible for climate change, but impacted most by it.
We are now waiting to hear if the High Court will grant permission for this groundbreaking
case to be heard. We’ll share further updates as soon as we have them on our case page.
