judgment

Friends of the Irish Environment v. Government of Ireland - judgment

Filing Year For Action

In 2020, Friends of the Irish Environment successfully challenged the government's National Mitigation Plan, with the Supreme Court determining that the Plan fell short of the specificity that the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended) requires, because a reasonable reader of the Plan would not understand how Ireland will achieve its binding  2050 emission reduction targets. 

Since 2020, the government has implemented a series of Climate Action Plans which lay out the government's plans for how it will meet its legally binding emission reduction requirements, in line with the 2020 ruling. Friends of the Irish Environment is challenging the 2023 Climate Action Plan and its corresponding Annex of Actions, on the grounds that the Plan does not comply with the requirements of sections 4(2)(a), 4(2)(b) and 4(3) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended).

Friends of the Irish Environment has laid out the following submissions: 

1. The State has not “ensured” that the Plan is “consistent” with the Carbon Budget Programme contrary to the requirements of section 4(2)(a) of the 2015 Act.

2. The Plan does not contain a roadmap of actions that include the sector specific actions “that are required to comply with the carbon budget and sectoral emissions ceiling for the period to which the plan relates” (section 4(2)(b)(i) of the 2015 Act) or “that are required to address any failure or projected failure, to comply with the carbon budget and sectoral emissions ceiling for the period to which the plan relates” ((section 4(2)(b)(ii) of the 2015 Act).

3. The Plan's Annex of Actions does not specify measures that will “in the Minister’s opinion, will be required for the first budget period in a carbon budget programme” for the purposes of section 4(3)(a) of the 2015 Act or the policies identified in 4(3)(b) of the 2015 Act.

The focus of the case is on ensuring that the Climate Action Plan 2023 and its Annex of Actions is consistent with Ireland’s obligations under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended); that it includes quantification of the emissions reductions expected from the Plan and adopts any further measures necessary to comply with the 2021-2025 carbon budget.

On Feb 7, 2025, the High Court determined that the Applicant had not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the Plan was inconsistent with the carbon budget. Although reports published by the EPA and CCAC highlighted the inadequacy of the Climate Actions Plan 2023, the High Court considered that expert evidence was also required. 

On March 19, 2026, the Court of Appeal dismissed this challenge. The Court held that (i) S15 of the Climate Act granted the Government broad discretion in setting out mitigation pathways; and (ii) the plaintiffs had not provided sufficient expert evidence that the plans outlined in the Climate Action Plans were insufficient. While acknowledging that the climate crisis is “probably the single most important issue facing our society”, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court ruling that the onus of proof required to demonstrate that the Government had acted in breach of the 2015 Act when adopting Climate Action Plan 2023 had not been discharged.

Friends of the Irish Environment v. Government of Ireland

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

A subsidy is a direct or indirect payment to individuals or businesses, typically provided as a government cash payment or a specific tax reduction.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

Any substance with chemical properties that can cause physical harm to people or damage the environment, including ammonia, carbon monoxide, phosphine, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, dioxins, microplastics, benzene, asbestos, aflatoxins, fluoride, methanol, and toxins from marine sources.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

A potent, short-lived greehouse gas, largely released from livestock, fossil fuel extraction and waste management.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

Friends of the Irish Environment v. Government of Ireland - judgment

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance