UK climate strategy ruled lawful in landmark court case

A man whose home had to be demolished because of coastal erosion lost a landmark legal claim on Friday against the UK government that accused it of failing to meet obligations to protect citizens from the effects of climate change.

Kevin Jordan, whose seaside home on the Norfolk coast in eastern England had to be knocked down, was one of two private claimants who brought the case, along with environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth.

Co-claimant Doug Paulley, a disability activist, lives in a care home in northern England and says hotter summers affect his health and puts him at increased risk of serious harm.

They both claimed the government’s climate adaptation aims policy, drawn up by the previous Conservative government, failed to comply with the country’s 2008 Climate Change Act.

The claim also said the policy failed to assess impacts on protected groups under equality law and that it breached the human rights of the two individual claimants due to the lack of provision for the specific risks they faced.

But a judge at the High Court in London ruled on Friday that the government’s plans were lawful—a decision described by Jordan as “extremely disappointing”.

NGO Friends of the Earth said its legal team will “study the detail of this judgment before we decide whether to lodge an appeal”.

“A robust and comprehensive adaptation plan is urgently needed to help protect us from increasingly severe storms, floods and heat waves –- particularly marginalized groups, such as older and disabled people, and those living in areas most at risk from climate change,” it added.

Rosie Downes, the group’s head of campaigns, told AFP that although the new Labour government will not have to rewrite the adaptation policy, it should “agree with us that this plan is woefully inadequate”.

“There are numerous dangers to us not acting and not having the right kind of plans in place,” she said outside court.

“We know, for example, that 1.9 million people across the UK are currently living in areas that are at significant risk of flooding… and we don’t have a proper plan in place to protect them,” she added.

© 2024 AFP