Three environmental organisations are seeking to take the government to court over its climate plans for the second time.
Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth and Good Law Project say the government’s revised net zero strategy, published in March, is unlawful. They have filed papers at the High Court requesting a judicial review.
Almost a year ago, the three organisations successfully challenged the government over its original strategy.
Ministers were required by the court to rewrite that document because it did not meet the requirements of the Climate Change Act to produce detailed climate policies that show how the UK’s legally-binding carbon budgets will be met.
Last week, the new version, called the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan, was strongly criticised by the government’s advisor, the Climate Change Committee (CCC).
The CCC’s progress report to parliament said there were credible plans for less than a fifth of the emissions cuts needed to meet the UK’s legally-binding climate targets.
Lawyers for Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth and Good Law Project now say the revised plan also breaches the Climate Change Act. They argue that the plan:
- Has no specific information on the risk that each policy would not be delivered and the UK would not meet legally-binding targets
- Has no overview of whether the plans for each sector are high, medium or low risk
- Relies on many nascent carbon-reducing technologies, such as hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, and low-carbon aviation fuel, that are said to be risky and uncertain
A leaked advisory document from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) assessing the delivery risk of government net zero measures was reported on by the Times earlier this year. Of 44 policies, 21 were marked red or red/amber, showing they will be hard to achieve.
Friends of the Earth also argues that the government’s approach breaches the sustainable development duty. This is because it references an 8% shortfall in meeting the UK’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), a key climate target adopted under the Paris Climate Agreement. The NDC requires a UK 68% reduction in its emissions by 2030, as compared with 1990.
Katie de Kauwe, lawyer for Friends of the Earth, said:
“Despite having nine months to come up with a lawful strategy, we believe this revised action plan still falls far short of the government’s legal obligations under the Climate Change Act. We said we’d take the government to court again if we believed that they’d failed to honour their climate commitments – and this is exactly what we are now doing.
“The climate crisis is already battering Britain and the world with record heatwaves, droughts and storms, and unless politicians take the action needed to slash emissions these impacts will become more severe and more frequent. The good news is that building a green economy won’t just slash emissions; it will also create new jobs, boost energy security and help tackle the soaring cost-of-living.”
Good Law Project’s legal director, Emma Dearnaley, said:
“We’re now in the crucial decade to stop irreversible damage from global heating, so it’s vital that we can all see if the Government’s flagship plan for tackling the climate emergency is actually going to work.
“It is deeply alarming that the Government’s new plan does not properly set out the risks of key policies missing these essential goals. What are they trying to hide?
“That is why we are pursuing legal action to demand transparency and help us and others to hold the Government to account on its new climate change strategy.”
ClientEarth’s chief executive, Laura Clarke, said:
“The government’s new plan to reduce emissions is not fit for purpose. It relies heavily on unproven and high-risk technological fixes at the expense of near-term action – yet the government ‘assumes’ that it will be delivered in full, despite these stark risks.
“People in the UK and globally need to see the UK take urgent, decisive climate action. But instead, we see hesitation and delay from the government and are almost certain to miss emissions reduction targets.
“As the CCC has again reiterated, real action on emissions can happen with ‘no regrets’ policies that will also help struggling households. Measures such as making homes more energy efficient and investing in active and public transport can both reduce emissions and increase energy security for the benefit of present and future generations.”
- DrillOrDrop report of day 1 and day 2 of the first legal challenge and the landmark ruling that the original net zero strategy was unlawful
DRILL OR DROP? 
Wasting taxpayers money with this Climate Cult nonsense
Who funds the governments advisors: ‘the’ Climate Change Committee (CCC), their over inflated salaries and their friends at “Stop Oil” 🤯
#biasreporting #wewillnotbemoved #climatepropaganda
https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/climate-energy-nature/2023/06/climate-change-committee-report-oil-net-zero
How can any government form a national plan stating how net zero will be achieved, what the time scale will be and what budget/funding it would require, when no-one in the world has ever accomplished a successful small or medium scale net zero demonstration project?
Unproven and high risk fixes?
Like the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow? The result? Oops Mr/Mrs Taxpayer “we” forgot about that, here is a bill for £200B for new nuclear and here is another bill for £52B to host GDFs (geological disposal facilities) that the locals will really embrace! “We” forgot the horse comes before the cart. LOL.
When these individuals and groups make a start on producing a plan that actually takes account of arithmetic and physics then they may be taken seriously. Until then, they are a waste of space, time and money.
MARTIN , this really is becoming laughable 🤣
Again I will ask something , I’ve asked you a 100+ times before .
Must say I’m getting a bit tired of asking the same questions old chap/old lady and you pretending you’ve not seen them , or going wildly off on one of your famous diversionary tactics .
Again I will ask , you prove £200 bn of UK Taxpayers money will be used to build the new nuclear power stations , instead of money from private investors
Failure to do so , will render your comments pointless , irrelevant , misleading and pure Collywaffle
What we do know at this moment is that EDF are investing £ BILLIONS of their OWN money in to UK Nuclear power .
https://www.edfenergy.com/about/nuclear#:~:text=EDF%20is%20leading%20the%20UK%27s,currently%20available%20to%20the%20UK.
MARTIN , I’m going BLUE in the face now . I am a deeply concerned resident who stands to have their life blighted if Fracking was green lighted again .. Why as a fanatical PRO-Fracker , won’t you discuss the highly toxic dangers of Fracking ????????
Why won’t you discuss Fracking and THE DIRTY DOZEN ???????
Oh dear, just more Jack nonsense.
You really do not understand “private” investment for public provision, do you?! EDF are the French Government. They are investing the French tax payers money that they can only do if the UK tax payer pays it back with a huge level of interest.
Once again Jack you just show there is absolutely no coherence or knowledge around this subject being displayed. You excel the quoted persons above-but not by much, and that is the problem.
You are deeply into something Jack, but knowledge is not one of them. When are you going to discuss the highly toxic dangers of electricity distribution? When are you going to discuss the highly toxic dangers of nuclear? From your starting point indicated above, it really would be delving further into your fantasies, so probably best to avoid.
By the way Jack, sorry you are so diverted, but this is about the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan, not fracking. If you want to be deeply concerned about lives being blighted, perhaps think about the recent E scooter tragedy?
OH dear MARTIN ,
I’m sorry your having difficulty understanding the A , B , C of nursery school economics and the English language.
MARTIN , you implied the £200bn would be landing on the toes of the British Taxpayer . I responded accordingly , asking that you submit evidence to back up your comments.
As usual you give a wild Off-The-Cuff comment , totally unrelated to the question.
What the French government does with its own taxpayers money is up to them ….. What were concerned about , living in the UK , is what UK Taxpayers money is spent on .
As for the rest of your diversionary Collywaffle , we’ll it has NO BEARING on the questions I’ve repeatedly asked you .
AGAIN I ASK , what about the toxic dangers of Fracking , what about Fracking and THE DIRTY DOZEN????
I’m a concerned resident who wishes to speak to a fanatical UK PRO-Fracker , such as yourself… Why won’t you discuss these serious matters , don’t you care about the health , safety and financial well-being of the British public ???????
Why on earth would I want to debate with someone who just trots out nonsense claim after nonsense claim, Jack?
Anyone would think you are just trying to cover up the absolute lack of arithmetic and physics within your platform by just making claims that nonsense arithmetic is the norm! Well, Jack-that is the problem and yours, not mine. 2020 was a “normal” year as well. You should be more concerned Jack that you know so little about so much, especially the UK.
I still await my FOC Citroen from those lovely French people who are so generously going to donate £200B to the UK for free nuclear stations. What else will follow Jack? I am not that keen on French wines, but some FOC would be welcome. There are some rather nice paintings in Paris that would fit a gap on my wall. Are they up for donation, Jack?
The health, welfare and financial well-being of the British public? You mean the ones who would like to avoid a repeat of Paradise? (DYOR) Deadly stuff this electricity distribution Jack. UK should never allow it, should they, based upon the problems in the USA? Yet, another £50B to be spent on adding to UK electricity distribution. Not to worry, there will be another mythical kind soul/country/fairy godmother who will pay for it.
Come back Jack, with something that is coherent and will add up and I will treat it seriously. If you continue to demonstrate you don’t have a clue how to get energy provision in UK to work for the inhabitants of UK without fossil fuels-my last sentence of 8.38am still applies.
🤣 Are you a redundant Wick , Gas mantle maker or Gas service engineer MARTIN ?
Hoping for a return to the good old days , I ask because your bitterness towards the electricity distribution network knows no boundaries….
With your fanatical love of Fossil Fuels , maybe you’d like us to return to the traditional coal fired traction engine 🤣
MARTIN , your above feast of diversionary
Collywaffle has it all , you’ve even managed to get in your dislike of French wines …… BRAVO , top marks on Collywaffle.
AGAIN I WILL ASK , you prove £200 bn of UK Taxpayers money will be used to build the new nuclear power stations , instead of money from private investors like EDF .
So MARTIN , you say I talk ” nonsense .”
AGAIN I ASK , what about the toxic dangers of Fracking , what about Fracking and THE DIRTY DOZEN ????
Number ( 1 ) on the Fracking DIRTY DOZEN list is Cancer …. For the readers MARTIN , is this nonsense ?????????
Fracking ….. Cancer in Children
https://www.fox7austin.com/news/children-living-near-fracking-sites-have-higher-rate-of-cancer-yale-study-finds
Fracking and Breast Cancer
https://www.bcaction.org/the-root-causes-of-breast-cancer/our-fossil-fuel-work/dont-frack-with-our-health/
Fracking …….. Birth Defects, Asthma and Cancer
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/the-harms-of-fracking-new-report-details-increased-risks-of-asthma-birth-defects-and-cancer-126996/
Fracking …….. Toxic Chemicals and Cancer
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/10/30/toxic-chemicals-and-carcinogens-skyrocket-near-fracking-sites-study-says
MARTIN , for JACK and the DOD readers , is this ” nonsense ” ????????
Will we receive a response, or will you pretend not to notice this evidence ??????
More nonsense, Jack.
I have previously suggested you should look at PFIs, to see that they are not an uncommon way to finance projects. The UK tax payer ends up paying MORE than if the Government funded them in the first place! (Sometimes so much more, that there is difficulty funding the running cost of the finished facility. The answer? Raise even more taxation!)
Obviously, you have no idea about such things [edited by moderator]
That is not unusual from you, Jack, as is your wish to avoid the toxic nature of electricity distribution in USA! I have no gripe or dislike of electricity Jack, (I am using some now!) but it has a record of being mismanaged in USA causing severe impacts to humans-like deaths-to animals-like more deaths-and destroying huge quantities of property. Yet, you wish to focus upon one other form of energy supply in USA. Seems somewhat selective, when that form of energy provision is what is supplying much of Europe. Are you wanting Europeans to die from cold induced illness this winter Jack?
Your answer to that little issue? Oh yes, when the war in Ukraine is over everything will return to your “normal” and Russia will pipe gas and oil to Europe again. Maybe that is on your fantasy wish list Jack, it certainly is not on mine, and will not happen. What will? Oh yes, the USA will carry on fracking and be pleased to supply gas to Europe, (Chesapeake Energy have already signed their supply contracts!) and when the cold weather comes and demand increases then the repeat of $7 V $47 will likely occur-although I would suspect the USA will by then be able to reduce their previous $7. Your answer to $7 V $47? Just denial! First it was the “one world market for gas” nonsense, then followed by “it didn’t happen”, simply because it couldn’t happen otherwise your first false information would be exposed as nonsense. Except it did Jack, and the data is recorded. The data recorded is correct, your posts on the subject were the nonsense.
[Edited by moderator]
MARTIN ,
So your OPINION is that the British Taxpayer will end up picking up the tab . Well MARTIN , unless you can show something more than a hunch, you know some EVIDENCE , I’m afraid old chap / old lady your hunch will mean diddly squat.
So it’s your OPINION that the Cancer WARNINGS about Fracking from
( 1 ) Breast Cancer Action
(2) YALE School of Public Health
(3) Dr. David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany-State University of New York
(4) Nobel Peace Prize winners, Physicians for Social Responsibility
Is all ” nonsense ” well then MARTIN , let’s see your evidence to prove that …… I must warn you, failure to show any evidence , will render your comments as nothing more than wild Off-The-Cuff Collywaffle.
Sorry you don’t understand how UK power stations are paid for Jack, but you really don’t know much about UK or the UK energy sector. Please, do enlighten the readers, if they are taxpayers and pay for energy supplied, why they are to be provided with 7 or more new power stations that they don’t fund. When has this ever happened in UK history previously? There is one under construction at the moment. The costings are available, although they will end up higher.
What is your OPINION about CANCER risk exacerbated from ermmmmmm…..forest fires! What causes a lot of forest fires in USA, Jack? I could supply you with dozens of links, Jack, but education is not my job. Just research Paradise to start with. Just that one word will take you to many, many publications. Once you have digested all of that Jack, just let me know and I can provide repeat after repeat. Probably more than a dozen!
What is your OPINION about new UK nuclear? Stated many years ago by a past UK Chief Scientific Adviser that new nuclear would be required in UK to get Net Zero to add up (see Sustainable Energy-without the Hot Air)? Well Jack, you have tried to keep the Hot Air bit going by trying to get away with nonsense that it will be FOC to the UK, but then it has taken a long time for what Sir David McKay declared to be admitted as the truth, it seems it might take a lot more time for certain parties to admit it will cost the UK a lot of money. Ironically, it will be the grandchildren who pick up the tab. I’m not convinced they will be thankful for their grandparents taking that responsibility upon themselves to leave that to them-especially if grandparents house happened to be close to a geological disposal facility that knocked another £52B off their inheritance and a worthless property in their Wills!
Not to worry. The message is someone else will pay! The easy option from those who have no real solution. I am not sure whether that is an improvement upon a suggested post death conversion, which has also featured. However, the reality remains. The denials just focus attention upon it.
You simply end up a Net Zero denier, Jack [edited by moderator]
Well there you have it Ladies and Gentlemen , feast your eyes on the above … Reams and reams of words and NOT one single shred of evidence …. From start to finish , MARTINS epic monologue has in it’s entirety , failed to deliver anything provable . What you are reading here is pure , classic COLLYWAFFLE.
I can see your bitterness is once again rearing its ugly head against the American electricity distribution network…. I suppose you’d like us to go back to having Fossil Fuel Coal for heating , delivered direct to people’s doors by traction engine and ONLY piped Gas available to consumers ……. HMMMMM with the increased use of Gas , wouldn’t that cause a risk of more forest fires ??????????
Maybe people could navigate around their homes at night , wearing Miners style hats with candles in . 🤣
Getting back to reality now , whatever the problem is , with ANY forest fire in the USA , if there are any …. Maybe they should invest MORE money in updating their prehistoric electricity distribution network instead of continuing to stick high voltage cables on the top of wooden telegraph poles .
Maybe GLOBAL WARMING is causing this OLD way of electricity distribution , above ground , to be more unstable putting it more at risk of overheating .
Maybe the increase in electricity demand , or more unstable weather patterns as a result of GLOBAL WARMING is causing this OLD style of distribution to be more of a fire problem ……. If this is a particular worry for you MARTIN that’s keeping you awake at night , JACK will be delighted to discuss this issue , along side our discussions about THE DIRTY DOZEN toxic dangers of Fracking .
Ladies and Gentlemen as you will be aware if you have been following this thread , MARTIN made a number of wild off-the-cuff comments implying that the UK Taxpayer would be picking up the tab for any new nuclear power station…. I questioned this and showed EVIDENCE to prove his comments were WRONG …. MARTIN unable to back up his/her comments with any evidence , went off on one of his/her full scale diversionary tactics , talking about anything else, but the matter in hand.
This tactic is pure , classic Collywaffle.
AGAIN I will ask , you prove £200 bn of UK Taxpayers money will be used to build new , UK nuclear power stations instead of money from private investors like EDF .
https://www.edfenergy.com/about/nuclear#:~:text=EDF%20is%20leading%20the%20UK%27s,currently%20available%20to%20the%20UK.
MARTIN ……….The Great British company ROLLS ROYCE , is also drawing up plans for a new range of UK nuclear power stations …… Do you support the British workforce ?????? Do you support the idea of a highly skilled British workforce ?????? Do you agree that high quality , highly skilled jobs are exactly what the UK should encourage ?????? British jobs for British workers .
So MARTIN , are you still standing by your ” OPINION ” and ignoring the serious CANCER WARNINGS about Fracking from
( 1 ) Breast Cancer Action
(2) YALE School of Public Health
(3) Dr. David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany-State University of New York
(4) Nobel Peace Prize winners, Physicians for Social Responsibility
” TO NAME BUT A FEW ”
Is this in your ” OPINION ” nonsense ??????
Reams and reams of words? Exactly Jack.
However, your many words don’t make sense. I ask again, whenever has there been a power station built in UK that has not cost the UK tax payer? Come on Jack, you were the one who proposed the nonsense so where is your historical EVIDENCE?
Then you become confused with what has been identified as causing thousands of forest fires in USA Jack. So, you didn’t bother to check that out and just plonked out another fantasy.
As for Rolls Royce, well they have already received a lot of UK tax payers money to develop SMRs. If they are successful, they will supply and the UK taxpayer will pay for them. However, there is no certainty that it will be RR who win the race and the contracts. Whoever it is, the UK tax payer will pay. Just like the £200B-plus the £52B to bury the radioactive waste.
UK jobs? Oh dear Jack, would you prefer UK fracking to US fracking to create UK jobs!? Wash your keyboard off Jack. You are suddenly converted to bringing the $60k per year jobs washing dishes to the UK. Well, it took a while Jack but you stumbled there. However, the reality is that large numbers of manufacturing jobs are being relocated away from UK because UK has high energy prices, and that dissuades manufacturing businesses!
[Edited by moderator]
Just handed back my grandson, Jack. He can now count to 47, and knows it is a long way past 7! The key Jack is to separate reality from fantasy and even a 2 and a half year old can get there. Interestingly, he is a “result” of the first lock down in the UK, so will one day even work out 2020 was not a “normal” year.
MARTIN 🤣
You spin that much Collywaffle , you even forget what you’ve said ….. It was YOU who said the solid , concrete, indisputable evidence from world leading authorities that I put forward in
the form of ” LINKS ” for all to see , were as you put in your own words ” nonsense ”
Backing up your comments with your usual trademark of zero evidence …. It therefore should be noted by ALL the readers that what you say is only your own OPINION .
Whatever the previous situation regarding UK power stations is irrelevant ……. Anyway back then , they were nationalized, state owned .
What matters NOW , is here and now and what I’ve shown you is evidence that proves you were WRONG …… The French company EDF are sinking tens of BILLIONS into UK nuclear power.
SO AGAIN I will ask , you prove £200 bn of UK Taxpayers money will be used to build new , UK nuclear power stations instead of money from private investors like EDF .
https://www.edfenergy.com/about/nuclear#:~:text=EDF%20is%20leading%20the%20UK%27s,currently%20available%20to%20the%20UK.
OH please no more 🤣 , yes I remember toilet cleaners, your couldn’t get one for love nor money . They were all flying round from Fracking site to Fracking site in privately owned helicopters .
Yes I remember , the UK Fracking jobs BONANZA 🤣 ……. Oh yes , Cuadrilla were going to employ 11 , yes I did say 11 permanent staff at their Fracking site in Lancashire …… I wonder how many of those 11 would of been security guards jobs on minimum rates of pay .
You talk about UK manufacturing , if you want to bring down energy costs , then invest in renewable energy , it’s cheaper than fossil fuels.
OH by the way , I have some GREAT NEWS for you MARTIN ……. The new generation of Solar Panels will be so much more efficient…… Just think of all that EXTRA FREE ELECTRICITY .
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/06/revolutionary-solar-power-cell-innovations-break-key-energy-threshold
And MARTIN ,
You make reference to the ” normal year ” 2020.
The year when Fracking company , Chesapeake Energy were filing for bankruptcy protection , saddled with 9 BILLION of unsupportable debt .
Was that also the ” normal year ” that the American Shale industry as a whole , was riddled with bankruptcies and debt ???????
With 450 BILLION of ” invested capital ” sunk in to the Shale industry ( a lot of deeply distressed and angry investors there no doubt ) and a FURTHER additional 300 BILLION in debt and bankruptcies .
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Shale-Has-Lost-300-Billion-In-15-Years.html
YES , I suppose 2020 was a ” normal year ” for the American Shale industry , endlessly raking up more and more debt .
OH BOY , what a difference a WAR makes….. They now have countries begging for all that gas , no matter what the price is , but what happens when the war ends and we’re all friends again ????????
Oh dear Jack, you are confused. Not my job to deal with that, but I will provide the correct information:
If you travelled around the UK Jack-in your case maybe not an option-you would see all sorts of power stations. All of them funded by the UK tax payer/energy bill payer, and in many cases then subsidized by UK tax payer, such as Drax to the tune of £6B in GREEN SUBSIDIES for that one alone!
No, renewable energy is not cheap, unless you ignore the £200B and the £52B and the other £52B for the Grid. Which you do, Jack, but that is fantasy as your posts have clearly shown, and you should be more careful as the myth is important to maintain! Generation costs for electricity from Hinkley Point are available already, the other 6/7 will not be cheaper. Generation costs from SMRs? Who knows, yet to be determined. (I have checked my garage Jack, a FOC Roller would not fit!)
“What happens when the war ends and we’re all friends again????”
Ermm, not Russian gas and oil Jack, as Centrica announce a 15 year deal with Delfin Midstream to import 1m tonnes/year of LNG from Delfin Deepwater Port, Louisiana, USA to UK starting 2027! Goodness Jack, more high paid jobs-in USA! The market for the Marigolds will be huge.
As far as debt is concerned, then perhaps best not to look at Tesla debt over the years, Jack.
“Countries begging for gas, no matter what the price is.” (You mean, like $47 per MMBtu? Surely not Jack, because that didn’t happen, did it? Oh yes, it did!) Will it happen again? Probably. What is to stop it? Oh yes, more reliance upon New Nuclear-at £30B a pop. Not FOC, Jack. PFIs are not FOC, they are MORE expensive!
Looks as if debt in the USA gas sector will be well serviced, doesn’t it? By the UK tax payer, without anything returned in the form of a windfall. No wonder investors have been filling their boots-from Chesapeake Energy, as one example.
So, there it is Jack. The reality. Quite different to what you “suggest”, but it is the reality. Never mind, today in the UK the wind is blowing and sun is shining, so a few can lap that up and ignore that £252B is required to insure for when that is not the case. Meanwhile, the NATO meeting is also asking for increases in defence spending as they don’t expect we’re all friends again anytime soon.
PS Jack:
Just to add that a certain UK company has recently decided to invest in USA by purchasing some now deemed surplus assets from Chesapeake Energy. Wonder who that was, Jack? Answers on a postcard-or DoD. (Hint-maybe some more returns to buy football clubs!) Same assets that produced the financial problem that the abnormal 2020 created, and now being sold off for pretty decent returns as Chesapeake refocuses upon core assets
The same Chesapeake who also recently announced a similar deal as the Centrica one, with Gunvor, but for twice the volume. Last time I looked they were still reviewing the best LNG export facility, but perhaps that will also end up with Delfin? Well paid jobs? Yep, I suspect the LNG expert they were looking for will not be washing his/her own dishes.