The High Court is to heard a first-of-its-kind case alleging that the Irish government has failed to take adequate action on man-made climate change.
Community Law & Mediation (CLM), alongside a grandfather, a youth climate activist and a child were yesterday granted leave to proceed with the landmark case, which seeks a declaration from the court that the government is not complying with the Climate and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended).
The applicants argue that the Climate Action Plan 2024, the instrument by which the government sets out the roadmap for meeting Ireland’s legally binding carbon budget, fails to meet the legal standards set by the Oireachtas and so undermines the State’s efforts at effective climate action in line with Ireland’s legal obligations.
They claim that CAP24 is not in compliance with the first carbon budget or the carbon budget programme and was prepared, submitted and approved in breach of the 2015 Act.
In addition, they argue that CAP24 violates the fundamental rights of the three individual applicants, marginalised groups that CLM works with, and future generations, as protected by the Constitution of Ireland, the European Convention on Human Rights and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
In taking this case, the applicants seek to safeguard the fundamental rights of younger and future generations, and those from deprived socio-economic or marginalised groups, all of whom stand to be disproportionately impacted by climate change but have least opportunity to protect or vindicate their rights.
Rose Wall, chief executive of Community Law & Mediation, said: “Ireland’s emissions are not decreasing rapidly enough to stay within the confines of the State’s own legally binding 2025 and 2030 carbon budgets and successive Climate Action Plans have fallen short on implementation.
“Low income and marginalised groups, the groups CLM has represented since its establishment in Coolock almost 50 years ago, stand to be disproportionately impacted by climate change but have least opportunity to protect or vindicate their rights. In taking this case, CLM seeks to serve as a vehicle for collective recourse for these communities and future generations.”
This case is taking place in parallel with a separate challenge by Friends of the Irish Environment of the Climate Action Plan 2023.
It builds on the successful Climate Case Ireland, in which the Supreme Court quashed the country’s first national mitigation plan for failing to specify how it would achieve the national transition objective, as mandated by the 2015 Act.
This case also builds on the landmark judgment from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the Klimaseniorinnen case in April 2024, in which the court found that that the Swiss government’s inadequate action on emissions is a violation of Article 8 of the ECHR.
The case is listed again for 7 October 2024.
