press release

R(Packham) v Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and Secretary of State for Transport (challenge to the ‘new approach to Net Zero’) - press release

Filing Year For Action

On September 20, 2023, the Prime Minister gave a speech setting out his ‘new approach to Net Zero’. The accompanying press release stated that due to the “UK’s over-delivery on reducing emissions” there was “space to take a more pragmatic, proportionate, and realistic approach to reaching net zero...”. A number of policy changes were announced. The 2030 ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars was delayed to 2035. Policies requiring landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties were dropped. And the ban on new fossil fuel boilers for certain households was delayed.
On December 1, 2023, environmentalist and TV personality Chris Packham announced a public law challenge to these decisions. The grounds of claim are:
• The obligation under Section 13 Climate Change Act 2008 to have proposals and policies to meet carbon budgets is continuing and the proposals and policies must be current. If they are altered, there must always be plans in place to meet the budgets. The secretaries of state breached this obligation.
• There was a failure to take into account considerations listed under Section 10 of the Climate Change Act, such as the risk to delivery of proposals and policies and to the achievement of the carbon budgets and the 2050 net zero target.
• There was a failure to consult on the changes, particularly a failure to take into account ongoing consultations about off-grid heating and minimum energy efficiency in rental properties
• The decisions were based on misinformation
• There was a breach of the duty to inform the public of the reasons for the decisions to change the policies

On March 4, 2024 it was reported the High Court had granted permission for the first three grounds to proceed to full trial. On the refusal of permission for the final two grounds, Mr Packham would have been entitled to request a permission hearing to challenge that. It is not known whether he has done so, or whether he has opted instead to proceed to trial on the three grounds for which permission was granted.


R(Packham) v Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and Secretary of State for Transport (challenge to the ‘new approach to Net Zero’)

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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.

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.

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

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

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

Kinetic energy of airflow transformed into useful energy, mostly electrical energy.

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.

Financial actors and resources that are primarily directed towards climate change mitigation, adaptation and compensation.

Dedicated pool of financial resources for climate-related projects.

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

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

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

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

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

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.

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.

R(Packham) v Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and Secretary of State for Transport (challenge to the ‘new approach to Net Zero’) - press release

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Finance