Issue #1, 15 th April
Environmental lawyers
threaten the UK with a
lawsuit over climate
change failures
Does this highlight the govern-
ment environmental inadequen-
cies, after they fail to produce a plan
to cut greenhouse gas emissions?
The post-fact phenomenon
The latest concern is ‘fake news’ however, the term is often being used to de-
scribe factually correct news to propagate the notion that opinion trumps factu-
ally correct information. But this weakens the cause for an informed public by
convincing society that researching further isn’t necessary. During the EU refer-
endum, Michael Gove stated that the public were sick of experts and this high-
lights the contempt some politicians show for the public.
Experts are there to research, analyse and inform the government of the best
course of action but that advice is often ignored and ideological policies are
implemented. Whatever side of the spectrum you reside, every political party is
guilty of this (some more than others ). With the latest statistics on declining liv-
ing standards, a long-term plan must be implemented to remedy the situation
for future generations.
By Matthew Clifton
The UK government this week been
warned that they risk being taken to
court over climate change. Since 2008
and the Labour government’s introduc-
tion of the Climate Change Act, which
later became the basis of the Paris Cli-
mate Agreement, the government has
been under pressure to continue to re-
duce UK’s carbon footprint. However,
ClientEarth, who are a team of envi-
ronmental lawyers, have given the
government 21 days to explain climate
have been threatened with legal action
failures.
over similar issues. Recently, the Europe-
Britain’s Climate Change Act details that an Union (EU) stated that due to the UK’s
the government must come up with a
government’s failure to address the VW
plan to cut greenhouse gasses (GHGs) by scandal properly, could risk legal action
57 per cent by 2032.
being taken by the EU against the UK.
The Conservative government have been
UK government heavily
heavily criticised over their handling of
criticised
energy, environmental and climate
Official figures state between 1992-2014, change issues after a series of subsidy
UK emissions fell by approximately 33% cuts for renewable energy and tax
breaks for large oil corporations has seen
and this is largely down to a significant
increase in renewable electricity genera- renewable energy sector increasingly
worried about their sustainability.
tion plus the switch from coal to gas-
powered fire station. However, the gov-
ernment still have a significant amount of
work to do, so that the UK can meet its
2032 target. There is substantial need to
reduce consumption with homes heated
by gas and most vehicles still using pet-
rol or diesel.
This is not the first time the government
Ambitious progressive
policies necessar y
The government have never been inter-
ested in progress or long-term sustaina-
bility, economically or environmentally.
They lack ambition to improve the con-
stantly failing education standards and
5
follow-up on great innovative success
that the UK has previously had. The con-
stant delays to the Emissions Reduction
Plan has put further doubt on radical
plans by the Conservative government.
There is little evidence to suggest that
they will provide a sufficient plan for the
UK to reach those targets set.
If they are going to have any success in
making the targets set out by the Climate
Change Act then they will have to imple-
ment new, progressive and truly radical
plans but they lack all will to do so. With
Brexit taking up most of the attention of
the government it has left them open to
vulnerable attacks by the extreme sides
of the party in pushing through further
unsavoury legislation. The UK govern-
ment needs to react soon and create a
plan that will ultimately prove that they
can meet the 2032 targets.