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Humane Being v. the United Kingdom - press release

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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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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

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

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.

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

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

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.

Hot temperature extremes are daily maximum temperatures  that were exceeded on average once in a decade or once in 50 years, and includes heatwaves.

Humane Being v. the United Kingdom - press release

Risk

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Finance