Climate lawfare: saving the planet or subverting democracy?

Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2024 on Sunday 20 October at Church House, Westminster.

ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION

In April this year, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in favour of a group of elderly Swiss women who want to sue their government for not doing enough to prevent climate change from damaging their health. For climate campaigners, this was a welcome victory for vulnerable citizens against irresponsible politicians. For critics of the decision, it was perverse, given that Swiss people have among the highest life expectancies in the world. The decision has been loudly ignored by the Swiss government, but nonetheless seems to set an important precedent.

The ECHR case is far from the only example of climate lawfare. For example, in February 2020, the Court of Appeal blocked plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, although the decision was reversed on appeal to the Supreme Court. In July 2022, ClientEarth and other environmental groups won a court case to force the UK government to revise its climate-change strategy – and won another case in February 2024 after arguing the revised strategy still wasn’t good enough. There have been frequent attempts to use the courts to block new infrastructure projects or challenge government policy on the grounds that climate commitments have not been taken into account.

The door for such cases has been opened by the UK’s commitment, through the Climate Change Act, to decarbonise the economy by 2050. But a growing number of commentators have denounced the Net Zero target as ill-thought-out, unworkable and too expensive. The Labour government seems still to be committed to spending more on renewables while restricting oil and gas production. But such enthusiasm for Net Zero may falter if the economy continues to struggle as a result of such measures.

Have the courts been too willing to side with environmentalists, sparking accusations of judicial activism and undermining democracy? Or are they simply forcing governments to follow through on their commitments to tackle climate change?

SPEAKERS
Dr Shahrar Ali
former deputy leader, Green Party

Jon Holbrook
barrister; writer, spiked, Critic, Conservative Woman

Alastair Mellon
civil engineer; PPC candidate, SDP, Coventry South

Tina Louise Rothery
co-founder, UK Nanas (Against Fracking)

Stuart Smith
activist, Future Cities Project; co-organiser, What the Papers Say debates

CHAIR
Rob Lyons
science and technology director, Academy of Ideas; convenor, AoI Economy Forum; author, Panic on a Plate