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Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action (ICELA) v. MoEF - judgment

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Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action (ICELA) v. MoEF - decision

Filing Year For Action

In 2014, ICELA, an environmental NGO, filed an application against the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and companies producing HCFC- 2 to stop emitting HFC-23. The emission of this by-product has 14,800 times more global warming potential (being a greenhouse gas) compared to carbon dioxide thereby leading to ozone depletion. The excessive release of greenhouse gas may set off a climate bomb and severely affect the environment. The petitioner relied on constitutional mandates, namely Articles 48A (duty of the state to protect the environment), 51A(g) (fundamental duty of the citizen to protect and improve the environment), and section 3 of the Environment Protection Act 1986 that give powers to Central Government to take such measures as deemed necessary or expedient for the purpose of protecting and improving quality of the environment and preventing, controlling and abating environmental pollution. However, the respondent, namely, the Ministry of Environment and Forests raised a preliminary objection by stating that the petition is unmaintainable as it falls outside the jurisdiction of the National Green Tribunal. The bye-product HFC-23 does not fall within the Acts specified in Schedule-I of the NGT Act and therefore the tribunal could not entertain the petition.

On 10th December 2015, the NGT held it has the jurisdiction to hear the case as the greenhouse gas has been a matter of concern at the national and international level as part of the environment. The NGT Act 2010 is social welfare legislation and intended to provide expeditious justice in civil environmental cases. However, the tribunal found that the regulation of HFC-23 relates to a matter of global policy which must be regulated under international law. As such the court understood that “there would be a very little role for the statutory authorities within the country to take appropriate measures.” 

The tribunal acknowledged that undisputedly HFC-23 has an effect on global warming being part of greenhouse gases, and at present there is a gap in scientific understanding of HFC-23’s toxic impact on the air and its categorization as a pollutant. The tribunal further observed “the international conventions and treaties have to provide a path for domestic legislation and in any case it has failed and be regulated without further delay.” Accordingly, the NGT directed the regulatory authorities and expert bodies to conduct a comprehensive data base study on HFC-23, being a pollutant and the extent of its impact on global warming, being part of greenhouse gases. On 27th September 2021, India ratified the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol, to reduce and phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons by eighty percent by 2050.

Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action (ICELA) v. MoEF

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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 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.

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

Tradable permits are market-based tools that grant permission for specific activities, frequently used to regulate emissions. These permits can be issued within a trading system to manage environmental impacts.

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.

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 that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

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

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

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

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.

Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action (ICELA) v. MoEF - judgment

Policy instrument

Risk

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance