On July 26, 2022, the NGO Humane Being filed an application to the European Court of Human Rights in the first case challenging factory farming in the UK. The application alleges that the UK Government is in breach of their obligations under Articles 2, 3 and 8 of the Convention for failing to address the risks of the climate crisis, future pandemics and antibiotic resistance created by factory farming. This application poses novel climate arguments focusing on the danger of agricultural methane emissions, and highlighting soy feed consumption in UK factory farming as a key driver of deforestation in the Amazon basin. The application also cites for the first time before the ECHR the ruling of the Brazilian Supreme Court in PSB  et al v Brazil (on Climate Fund), which recognized the Paris Agreement as a human rights treaty. Given the urgency of the case and other pending climate cases before the ECHR, an application has been made for the case to be assessed on a priority basis. 

In January 2023, the case was declared inadmissible pursuant to procedure which does not involve a public decision. The Court found that the applicants were not sufficiently affected by the alleged breach of the Convention or the Protocols thereto to claim to be the victims of a violation within the meaning of Article 34 of the Convention. Accordingly, these complaints are incompatible ratione personae with the provisions of the Convention within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a).

Humane Being v. the United Kingdom

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Humane Being v. the United Kingdom - press release

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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.

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

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

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This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

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

Humane Being v. the United Kingdom - press release

Risk

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Finance