The Government’s strategy for getting to Net Zero is inadequate and unlawful, the High Court has found, following a successful legal challenge brought by Good Law Project, Joanna Wheatley, ClientEarth, and Friends of the Earth.

The Climate Change Act requires the Government to hit Net Zero by 2050, to make proposals for how it will meet that target, and to place a report before Parliament. 

In a detailed judgment and order published yesterday, amid the UK’s first ever red alert for extreme heat, the High Court held that the proposals for achieving Net Zero approved by the Secretary of State were too vague to enable him to be satisfied that the statutory targets would be met. And that the report placed before Parliament lacked the specificity necessary to meet the Secretary of State’s duty to inform Parliament and the public of his plans.

The illegality of its landmark climate change strategy is a huge political embarrassment to the Government. When it launched in October 2021, the Net Zero Strategy was hailed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a foreword: “Our strategy for net zero is to lead the world in ending our contribution to climate change.” And by the Secretary of State, Kwasi Kwarteng: “This strategy demonstrates how the UK is leading by example, with a clear plan for the future.”

The Court has ordered that the existing strategy be fleshed out with the detail necessary for Parliamentary and public scrutiny within the next eight months. The Government has also been ordered to pay our costs.

The dangerous heatwave this week is a stark reminder of the very real threat we face. Our infrastructure and homes were designed for a climate that no longer exists. This cannot wait. The Net Zero target must be a road map to a sustainable future, not a lie we tell our children.

We are thrilled to have worked alongside our friends at ClientEarth and Friends of the Earth to deliver this landmark victory. And we are hugely grateful to Baker McKenzie and Jason Coppel QC and Peter Lockley of 11 Kings Bench Walk who worked pro bono or at hugely discounted rates.

Achieving this landmark judgment has only been possible thanks to the generous donations from hundreds of you who have pledged your support of this case.

A week from today, we will be at the High Court to argue for a stronger Net Zero Strategy that’s truly fit for purpose. 

The UK Government’s Net Zero Strategy is meant to be a roadmap for how we reduce greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible by 2050. For the strategy to have any meaning it must be specific and quantified, otherwise it’s just handwaving. The Government talks a good game, but it hasn’t actually set out how we will get to Net Zero. 

We’re in Court on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 June with our co-claimant Jo Wheatley, a committed climate activist for nearly 40 years, to argue that the only way the Government can properly meet the threat of the climate crisis is with a strategy that has clearly defined targets. If we’re successful, the Government will be forced to fill in the gaps in its plans.  

Jo says she “wants the UK to have a Net Zero Strategy that treats the climate and biodiversity situation like the emergency it is, with measurable, realistic actions that set us on the right path. I want my grandchildren to have a liveable future; one they can thrive and be happy in.” She’s “terrified we're wasting the opportunity to wake up from sleepwalking into disaster.” 

Her fears are well founded. The current strategy falls far-short of the Government's obligations under the Climate Change Act. For example, the aviation industry is set to grow by 65 percent by 2050, but to meet Net Zero this needs to stop at 25 percent. However, the strategy doesn’t contain a single measure that would slow the industry’s growth. Instead, it makes risky bets on unproven and speculative technologies, and fails to properly set out how these will reduce emissions enough to meet their targets.

By granting us permission to bring a judicial review, the High Court has acknowledged that there are important questions about the strategy that must be answered. This could be a pivotal moment in determining how we, as a nation, respond to the climate crisis. 

As energy bills soar, the Government must invest in green alternatives. We have the chance to transform our future, but we need to face up to the scale of the crisis. 

Our arguments will be heard alongside those of ClientEarth and Friends of the Earth, who have also brought claims in relation to the Government’s Net Zero Strategy. 

A date has now been set for the substantive hearing in our Net Zero legal challenge. We will be going to court on 8 and 9 June this year, alongside ClientEarth and Friends of the Earth, who have also brought claims in relation to the Government’s Net Zero Strategy. By giving permission to bring a judicial review, the High Court has acknowledged how important the Net Zero commitment in the Climate Change Act is.

We launched this challenge because we believe it is essential that the Government has proper, data-driven plans to ensure the UK confronts the climate crisis. As it stands, the Net Zero Strategy is woefully inadequate and falls well short of meeting the Government’s legal obligations under the Climate Change Act. 

The climate crisis is happening now, on our own shores, and we must do all we can to combat it. Our lawyers will be working hard to prepare for the hearing in June. 

We are grateful for any support you can give. Thank you. 

We have good news in our legal challenge against the Government’s dangerously threadbare Net Zero strategy: we have been given permission to bring judicial review proceedings on all of our grounds.

We launched our case a month ago to force the Government to strengthen the Net Zero strategy. Currently, the commitment is paper thin. It’s strong on rhetoric, but lacking any real pathway to ensure we meet the promise made by Parliament to our children that we will reduce greenhouse gases to Net Zero by 2050. The Government isn’t measuring the emissions reductions each initiative is meant to achieve and has refused to release the documents that set out these calculations. 

We launched this case in the High Court alongside our friends at ClientEarth and Friends of the Earth. The High Court has decided that all three cases will be heard together and there is no reservation about anyone’s legal ‘standing’.

We are delighted that the High Court has, by giving permission to bring a judicial review, acknowledged how important it is that the Net Zero commitment in the Climate Change Act has real meaning. A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change earlier this week said that humans and nature are already being pushed beyond their abilities to adapt. And there is only a brief window of time left to avoid the very worst. 

The time to act is now.

We will let you know when a court date is set. 

You can read the High Court order here.