Government research has shown that more than three million people live in fuel poverty across England – I am nikom-Shutterstock
Environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth is taking the government to court over two of its “woefully inadequate climate strategies”.
Papers were filed last week for the judicial review, brought to the High Court by the green group, which will challenge both the government’s Net Zero Strategy (NZS) and its Heat and Buildings Strategy.
It will do so on the basis that the NZS does not comply with the Climate Change Act 2008, which Friends of the Earth was central to devising and securing. The group also contends that the Heat and Buildings Strategy should have considered the effects of its policies on protected groups, as part of ensuring a fair energy transition where climate action aligns with social responsibility.
Friends of the Earth claims the pathways to reach net zero in the NZS are theoretical because they are not supported by government policy to show how they can be fulfilled. This means that the Net Zero Strategy is not lawful, and crucially, does not allow Parliament and members of the public to hold the government accountable for any failures.
The group also claims that the government totally failed to consider the impact of its Heat and Buildings Strategy, published at the same time as the NZS, on protected groups. Factors such as age (both the elderly and the very young who will live with the greatest future climate impacts), sex, race, and disability can make people more vulnerable to climate impacts. This unaddressed inequality needs transparency and political accountability.
The government’s refusal so far to disclose its equality impact assessment for the Net Zero Strategy has raised similar concerns.
The environmental body is concerned that people in these groups can be unfairly and disproportionately affected by a badly planned transition to low-carbon living. Yet the government has not identified and considered their specific needs as required by the Equality Act 2010. Previous government research has shown that more than three million people live in fuel poverty across England. Those considered fuel poor are typically people on a low income and living in poorly insulated homes.
Friends of the Earth previously found that people of colour are twice as likely as white people to be living in fuel poverty, and areas identified by the government as having a high number of residents with disabilities or other health needs are more likely to be rated in the worst category for fuel poverty.
The government did not consider these factors which is why the environmental group is taking legal action. It says that “the need for a fair and just transition away from reliance on damaging fossil fuels makes these collective legal failures all the more serious”.
Katie de Kauwe, a lawyer at Friends of the Earth, said: “With characteristic sleight of hand, the government has set out an imaginary pathway for reducing carbon emissions but no credible plan to deliver it.
“A rapid and fair transition to a safer future requires a plan that shows how much greenhouse gas reduction the chosen policies will achieve, and by when. That the plan for achieving net zero is published without this information in it is very worrying, and we believe is unlawful.
“We know that those who do least to cause climate breakdown are too often the hardest hit. Climate action must be based on reversing these inequalities, by designing the transition with the most vulnerable in mind. Not even considering the implications of the Heat and Building Strategy on groups such as older and disabled people, and people of colour and ethnic minorities is quite shocking, given that these groups are disproportionately impacted by fuel poverty, for example.
“Housing is a good example because people who need to consume the smallest amount of energy due to cost find themselves trapped in reliance on gas heating in cold, leaky homes. And now people across the country are facing an energy price crisis, with gas prices expected to double compared with just two years ago.
“The bottom line is that the government’s vision for net zero doesn’t match the lacklustre policy that is supposed to make it possible. We are very concerned about the potential consequences of such a strategy for people in this country, and across the world, given the climate emergency. This is why we are taking this legal action today.”
Rowan Smith, a solicitor at Leigh Day, said: “Under the Climate Change Act 2008, the secretary of state has a legal obligation to set out how the UK will actually meet carbon reduction targets. Friends of the Earth considers that the Net Zero Strategy lacks the vital information to give effect to that duty, and so any conclusion, that targets will be achieved on the basis of the policies put forward, is unlawful. Friends of the Earth is concerned that this places future generations at a particular disadvantage because current mistakes are harder to rectify the closer we get to 2050. That is why this legal challenge is so important.”
Facilitate has approached the government for comment.
