decision

H.J. Banks & Co.  v. Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government - decision

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H. J. Banks & Co. Ltd challenged the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for denying a planning permission for a coal mining project. The High Court quashed the denial on two grounds, including the Secretary’s inadequate explanation of how preventing the project would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Northumberland County Council granted planning permission to H. J. Banks & Co. Ltd for a surface mine for the extraction of coal, sandstone, and fireclay in the Highthorn area of southeast Northumberland. The Secretary called the application in for his own determination and after a public inquiry declined to grant permission for the project, giving considerable weight in his decision-making to the adverse effects of greenhouse gas emissions. H. J. Banks & Co. Ltd challenged the denial on two grounds. The first ground alleged an error in the Secretary’s interpretation of balancing considerations under paragraph 149 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The second ground alleged that the Secretary wrongly weighed greenhouse gas emissions resulting from burning coal at power plants and that the Secretary acted inconsistently with previous practice in how the Secretary considered these emissions.

The High Court quashed the decision on grounds one and two. On ground one, the High Court determined that the Secretary had not lawfully weighed the relative costs and benefits of tourism and biodiversity as required under the balancing test of paragraph 149 of the NPPF and related regulations. On ground two, the High Court found that the Secretary provided insufficient reasoning to explain why emissions would be reduced if the coal project was denied because there was not adequate explanation of how power generation would be replaced by less carbon-intensive sources rather than imported coal. The Court found that the Secretary provided inadequate reasoning for how national policy to decarbonize was inconsistent with granting the permission.


H.J. Banks & Co.  v. Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government

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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

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

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

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

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

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.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

Activities that provide lodging, food, and entertainment services to guests, including hotels, restaurants, and resorts.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

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

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

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

Jobs that contribute to preserving or restoring the environment. We include jobs which require a high amount of green skills or which spend much of their time on green activities, as well as jobs transforming polluting industries.

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

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

H.J. Banks & Co. v. Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government - decision

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Just transition

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance