Government will not appeal High Court ruling that its Net Zero Strategy is unlawful

In the case of Friends of the Earth Ltd & Ors, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2022] EWHC 1841, Mr Justice Holgate ruled that the policy was unlawful because the minister involved in the decision was not given the necessary information needed in order to make the decision lawfully.

The judge, who handed down the decision in July, found that the Secretary of State's Net Zero Strategy was in breach of section 13 and 14 of the Climate Change Act 2008.

The Government had initially applied for permission to appeal the ruling but has subsequently decided to abandon its pursuit. It sent a letter to the court and parties involved in the case confirming its decision.

Friends of the Earth lawyer, Katie de Kauwe, said ministers "must now focus their energies on the action and detailed policies needed to address the climate crisis".

She criticised the existing strategy, highlighting a warning from the Climate Change Committee that there are only credible policies to achieve 39% of the emission cuts needed.

Sam Hunter Jones, senior lawyer at ClientEarth, the second claimant in the case, said: "Now that the government has confirmed it won't be appealing, its efforts must now be directed at publishing a revised Net Zero Strategy that complies with July's landmark judgment."  

They added: "The government has until the end of March next year to come up with a revised Net Zero Strategy that shows how the UK's legally-binding climate targets will be met."

A BEIS spokesperson said: “The Net Zero Strategy remains government policy and has not been quashed. The judge made no criticism about the substance of our plans which are well on track and, in fact, the claimants themselves described them as ‘laudable’ during the proceedings.”

“The UK has met or exceeded all its carbon budgets and driven down emissions by over 44% since 1990 – the fastest reduction of any G7 country.”

Adam Carey