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May 3, 2024 – Friends of the Earth and Client Earth win a court case

One year ago, on this day, May 3rd, 2024,

Britain’s climate action plan unlawful, high court rules

Environmental campaign groups took joint action against decision to approve carbon budget delivery plan

Helena Horton

Fri 3 May 2024 11.44 BST

The UK government’s climate action plan is unlawful, the high court has ruled, as there is not enough evidence that there are sufficient policies in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The energy secretary, Claire Coutinho, will now be expected to draw up a revised plan within 12 months. This must ensure that the UK achieves its legally binding carbon budgets and its pledge to cut emissions by more than two-thirds by 2030, both of which the government is off track to meet.

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 425ppm. As of 2025 it is 430ppm, but check here for daily measures. 

The context was the UK government has been making ever-bolder pledges around targets for emissions reduction (60 percent reduction by 2050, no – 80! – no, “net zero” for a couple of decades. Promises are easy, actual policies harder and implementing those policies harder still

What I think we can learn from this. You can (and should try, obvs) to win in the courts. But the megamachine rolls on.

See also Kayfabe.

What happened next

Oh, presumably some new plan will be released at some point, and challenged in its turn.

Meanwhile, the environmental protection rules that we have are about to be fed into the woodchipper.

Labour’s great nature sellout is the worst attack on England’s ecosystems I’ve seen in my lifetime | George Monbiot | The Guardian

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.

References

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Also on this day: 

May 3, 1978 – First and last “Sun Day”

May 3, 1989 “Exploration Access and Political Power” speech by Hugh Morgan – All Our Yesterdays

May 3, 1990 – From Washington to Canberra, the “greenhouse effect” has elites promising…

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January 30, 2024 – Climate Committee counsels action

One year ago, on this day, January 30th, 2024,

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has again called on the government to strengthen efforts to meet domestic climate targets, warning that “mixed messages” on the UK’s decarbonisation plans risk damaging the country’s leadership position at UN climate talks.

The independent advisory body will today publish a review of the UK’s role at last year’s COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, which praises efforts to deliver a broadly ambitious new international accord, but warns urgent action is now required to deliver on the goals set under the UAE Consensus.

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 422ppm. As of 2025 it is 425ppm, but check here for daily measures. 

The context was that a year ago, the Climate Change Committee, created in 2008 as part of the whole “Climate Change Act” thing, gave its latest advice to Sunak’s government (as if Sunak’s government was listening! As if Starmer’s will). 

What will be more interesting is what advice it gives Starmer’s government about the seventh carbon budget. This is set to be released on February 26th. Heathrow expansion?!

What I think we can learn from this is that quasi-independent bodies like the Climate Change Committee can offer all the advice they like, and politicians will, by and large, ignore them unless the advice is going to suit the interests of big business. Oh, call me a cynic. 

What happened next

Well, it was only a year ago. Nothing much has happened in British politics since then.

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.

Also on this day: 

January 30, 1961 – New York Times reports world is cooling

January 30, 1989 – “Hawkie” flies off to flog coal

January 30, 1989 – Je ne fais rein pour regretter… #climate jargon