Category: Emissions reductions/mitigation

Categories
2025 Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation Ireland Just transition litigation Private and family life Renewable energy Victim status

Coolglass Wind Farm Limited v. An Bord Pleanála

Summary:
In a January 2025 judgment, the Irish High Court of Planning and Environment ruled in favor of an appeal challenging the refusal of planning permission for a wind farm development. In doing so, it applied EU law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as interpreted in the 2024 KlimaSeniorinnen judgment by the European Court of Human Rights, to find that the relevant planning authority needed to have regard to Ireland’s renewable energy targets.

Facts of the case:
In a judgment delivered on 10 January 2025, the Irish High Court of Planning and Environment ruled on the refusal of planning permission for a wind farm development. The case raised an issue of statutory interpretation relating to the Irish Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, as amended in 2021. Planning permission for the wind farm project sought by Coolglass Wind Farm Limited was refused by the responsible board (An Bord Pleanála, Ireland’s national independent planning body that decides appeals on planning decisions made by local authorities) because it was contrary to planning regulation and rules on sustainable development of the area. Coolglass appealed, arguing that the Board was failing to approve adequate planning applications to meet Ireland’s 2030 renewable energy targets in the Climate Action Plan 2024, and was thereby failing to comply with its obligations under section 15 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015. Coolglass also argued that the board’s decision was incompatible with the ECHR and with Regulation (EU) 2022/2577 of 22 December 2022 laying down a framework to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy.

Findings:
The Court, in a ruling by Humphreys J., upheld the appeal by Coolglass. It held that the board had failed to exercise its powers in a manner that complied (as far as practicable) with Ireland’s climate objectives and policies, and that this failure also constituted a breach of duty under the European Convention on Human Rights, read in light of the KlimaSeniorinnen judgment, as well as a breach of EU law obligations.

On the human rights aspect of the case, the Court ruled that:

109. I agree with the applicant that one must conclude that art. 8 of the ECHR imposes a positive obligation on the State to put in place a legislative and administrative framework with respect to climate change designed to provide effective protection of human health and life, and a further positive obligation to apply that framework effectively in practice, and in a timely manner.
110. Ireland has a framework of course but (as discussed above under the heading of EU law conformity) it is clear that it is not being complied with. The latter failure, on the logic of Klimaseniorinnen, involves a breach of art. 8 of the ECHR.
111. The application of the framework in practice is crucial. As we know from the termination of pregnancy context (Case of A, B and C v. Ireland [GC], no. 25579/05, ECHR 2010 (https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre?i=001-102332)), the Strasbourg court takes a dim view of a situation where there are laws on the books but a failure to put in place practical arrangements to implement them.
112. The problem for the opposing parties here is firstly that an interpretation of s. 15(1) that allows the climate goals in legislation to fall by the wayside due to a failure by the board to exercise discretionary powers to override development plans is an interpretation that fails to conform with ECHR obligations contrary to s. 2 of the 2003 Act.
113. Secondly, the failure by the board to use its discretionary powers in that manner constitutes a failure to act consistently with ECHR obligations contrary to s. 3 of the 2003 Act.
114. The board rather weakly raises the defence that a body corporate doesn’t have locus standi to argue for the right to a private life in a climate-relevant sense under art. 8 of the ECHR. But that isn’t the point of course. Whether an individual applicant has standing in a hypothetical case or not doesn’t affect the interpretation of a statutory provision. The point being made is that the court should interpret the 2015 Act as amended in an ECHR-compatible manner. Such an interpretation supports the applicant’s proposition that s. 15(1) should be read as meaning what it says.
115. Thus the requirement to read legislation in an ECHR-compliant manner supports an interpretation of s. 15 that goes beyond the board’s have-regard-to interpretation and the State’s meaningful engagement interpretation. It reinforces the applicant’s case that the interpretation should ensure that ECHR obligations are complied with in practice, including compliance in practice with stated goals in relation to renewable energy infrastructure.

Overall, the Court ruled that:

116. Sometimes (although not as often as some people think) the language, context and purpose of a provision, or the requirements of EU law conformity or ECHR conformity, pull in different directions. This is not such a case.
117. On the contrary, all vectors of interpretation point strongly in the same direction – the need for an imperative reading of s. 15(1) in line with what it says, namely that the board and any other relevant body is required to act in conformity with the climate plans and objectives set out in the subsection unless it is impracticable to do so.
118. I therefore reject the watered-down interpretations of s. 15(1) offered by the opposing parties here and accept the applicant’s interpretation.

The Court granted Coolglass’s appeal and ordered that its planning application be remitted to An Bord Pleanála for renewed consideration.

Suggested citation:
Irish High Court of Planning and Environment, Coolglass Wind Farm Limited v. An Bord Pleanála [2025] IEHC 1, H.JR.2024.0001244, 10 January 2025.

Last updated:
4 February 2025

Categories
Children and young people Children's rights/best interests Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation Estonia Fossil fuel extraction Gender / women-led Paris Agreement Right to a healthy environment

Fridays for Future Estonia vs. Environmental Board

Summary:
On 25 June 2024, Fridays for Future Estonia, a youth environmental movement, announced that it had filed two cases against the continued operation of a state-owned fossil fuel (shale oil) plant. The Estonian Environmental Board had granted a state-owned company, Enefit Power, a permit to operate until 2035. Fridays for Future Estonia filed two complaints to challenge the permit: one was brought by MTÜ Loodusvõlu, an NGO established in 2019 by Fridays for Future Estonia with the goal of managing the financial side of the movement, and the other by a young activist within the movement named Elo-Lee Maran.

The case follows on a separate set of proceedings concerning a 2020 decision to award Enefit Power’s parent company 125 million Euros to construct a shale oil plant. MTÜ Loodusvõlu filed a lawsuit in the Tartu Administrative Court to revoke the construction permit, which was upheld in October 2023 by the Supreme Court, which annulled the construction permit. Two months later, the municipality of Narva-Jõesuu issued a new construction permit for the plant.

According to Fridays for Future, Elo-Lee Maran’s case represents the first climate case brought by an individual in Estonia. The case argues that exacerbating climate change is a threat to human rights, including the rights of children under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. No only does the plant’s operation hinder the achievement of the targets set out in the Paris Agreement and the National Energy and Climate Plan. It also, so it is alleged, violates Elo-Lee Maran’s right to a healthy environment under domestic and international law. Depleting Estonia’s share of the ever-smaller carbon budget will require Estonia to limit people’s basic freedoms intensely in the future, which is not in the best interests of a child.

The case will be heard by the Tallinn Administrative Court in December 2024.

More information:
For more information, see this overview from Fridays for Future.

Last updated:
29 November 2024

Categories
Children and young people Children's rights/best interests Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation European Convention on Human Rights Fossil fuel extraction Just transition litigation Norway Participation rights Private and family life Right to life

Greenpeace Nordic and Nature & Youth v. Energy Ministry (North Sea Fields Case)

Summary:
This case originated in a challenge to a series of administrative decisions by the Norwegian government granting corporations leave to operate new petroleum (oil and gas) fields in the North Sea (in Breidablikk, Yggdrasil, and Tyrving). The challenge was brought by two NGOs, Greenpeace Nordic and Natural og Ungdom (Nature & Youth). The case was heard in civil court, and challenged the petroleum fields

Claims made:
The three petroleum fields in question were subject to impact assessments by the corporate licensees. However, these impact assessments did not include combustion emissions from the oil and gas produced. The contested issue in the case concerned whether there was a legal requirement to include combustion emissions in this impact assessment (as per Norwegian and EU law). It was not argued that the impact assessments contained deficiencies with regard to other matters. The plaintiffs argued that combustion emissions should have been subject to an impact assessment. The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy argued that it was sufficient that combustion emissions were assessed at a more general level by the Ministry, and that there is no requirement for this to be included in the specific impact assessments.

Additionally, the plaintiffs argued that the administrative decisions breached the government’s positive obligations under Articles 2, 8 and 14 ECHR. They also also argued that the decisions were flawed because they did not have due regard for the best interests of the child, in breach of Section 104 of the Norwegian Constitution and Articles 3 and 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In addition, they argued that the decisions were based on an incorrect assessment of the facts.

The plaintiffs applied for a temporary injunction.

Ruling of the Oslo District Court:
On 18 January 2024, the Oslo District Court found the approvals of all three oil and gas fields had been invalid and issued an injunction forbidding the state from granting any new permits concerning these fields. the Court held that the contested decisions were unlawful because they had failed to include combustion emissions in the impact assessments conducted in advance, in violation of domestic and EU law, and highlighted procedural problems in the approvals process, especially the lack of adequate public participation. However, anticipating a ruling from the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in its then-pending climate cases — including three involving Norway, namely Duarte Agostinho, Greenpeace Nordic and the Norwegian Grandparents case –, the District Court refused to rule on the issue of compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court also concluded that there was no legal obligation for children to be heard or for the best interests of the child to be investigated and assessed in connection with decisions to approve plans for the development and operation of petroleum activities. The decisions were therefore not in conflict with Section 104 of the Norwegian Constitution and Articles 3 and 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The government was ordered to compensate the plaintiffs for their legal costs.

Proceedings at the Appeals Court in Oslo:
On 16 May 2024, the Oslo Appeals Court split the case into two parts. The State’s appeal against the Oslo District Court’s ruling in the injunction case of 18 January 2024 was to be heard during the appeal hearing regarding the main case. However, the right to enforce the District Court’s temporary injunction was suspended to await the Court of Appeal’s ruling.

Case documents (in Norwegian):
The case documents are available via ClimateCaseChart.com.

Suggested citation:
Oslo District Court, Greenpeace Nordic and Nature & Youth v. Energy Ministry (The North Sea Fields Case), case no. 23-099330TVI-TOSL/05, 18 January 2024.

Oslo Court of Appeals, Greenpeace Nordic and Nature & Youth v. Energy Ministry (The North Sea Fields Case), case no. LB-2024-36810-2, 16 May 2024.

Last updated:
29 November 2024.

Categories
Children and young people Domestic court Elderly Emissions reductions/mitigation European Convention on Human Rights Ireland Private and family life Right to life Vulnerability

Community Law and Mediation Centre and others v. Ireland

Summary:
In September 2024, an Irish NGO — the Community Law and Mediation Centre (CLM) — and three individual plaintiffs were granted leave to proceed with a climate case against the Irish government. The plaintiffs argued that the government’s Climate Action Plan 2024 (CAP24) violated legislative targets as set out in the Climate and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, did not comply with the country’s carbon budget, and violated the fundamental rights of the three individual plaintiffs — who are, respectively, a grandfather, a youth climate activist, and a toddler — as well as of the vulnerable groups represented by CLM and of future generations. The plaintiffs invoked the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as concretized in the KlimaSeniorinnen judgment, alongside constitutional rights under the Irish Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. It also builds on the 2020 judgment of the Irish Supreme Court, in the Friends of the Irish Environment case. There, the Court quashed the first Irish mitigation plan because of its inadequate level of detail.

The CLM stated that:

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 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.

Status of case:
Pending

More information:

Last updated:
29 November 2024

Categories
Adaptation Disability and health-related inequality Domestic court Elderly Emissions reductions/mitigation Human dignity Paris Agreement Right to health Right to housing Right to life Right to subsistence/food South Korea Vulnerability

Senior Citizens v. Korea

Summary:
In June 2024, a group of 123 older South Korean citizens brought suit against their government before South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission, arguing that the government’s greenhouse gas mitigation plans had violated their human dignity and their right to life. Their case concerns both mitigation and adaptation action. In terms of mitigation, they sought enhancement of the country’s 2030 national greenhouse gas reduction targets and an ambitious next nationally determined contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. In terms of adaptation, they sought a risk assessment of impacts on human rights, including the rights to life, food, health, and housing, and emphasized the State’s fundamental obligation to protect these rights. This assessment should entail, they argued, “a factual survey and epidemiological investigation into the risks the climate crisis poses to the human rights of vulnerable social groups, including older persons”, and lead to more ambitious adaptation measures.

Petition:
The full text of the petition as filed can be found below.

Senior_Citizens_v_Korea_petitionDownload

Status of case:
Pending before South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission

Last updated:
29 November 2024

Categories
Children and young people Children's rights/best interests Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation Fossil fuel extraction Private and family life Public trust doctrine Right to culture Right to health Right to life Sea-level rise United States of America Vulnerability

Sagoonick et al. v. State of Alaska II

Summary:
On 22 May 2024, a group of young people supported by the NGO ‘Our Children’s Trust’ filed suit against the U.S. State of Alaska arguing that statutory requirements to develop and advance the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project violate their public trust rights as well as their rights to substantive due process, life, liberty and property, and the right to protected natural resources for “current and future generations” under the Alaskan Constitution. They argue that this project will cause “existential harms to the lives, health, safety, and cultural traditions and identities of Alaska’s youth, and substantially limit their access to the vital natural resources upon which they depend.”

The case follows on an earlier case against Alaska, Sagoonick et al. v. Alaska I, which was rejected in 2022 by a divided Alaskan Supreme Court.

Claims made:
The case challenges legislation creating the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, a state agency created to pursue building a new LNG pipeline. 

According to the plaintiffs, Alaska is “already in a state of climate disruption” and the contested project “would ensure continuing and substantially elevated levels of climate pollution for decades, locking in increasing and worsening harms to Youth Plaintiffs”. They argue that the youth plaintiffs are “uniquely vulnerable to climate change injuries and face disproportionate harms”. Arguing that climate pollution is already causing dangerous climate disruption in Alaska, injuring the plaintiffs in this case, they cite the following climate-related impacts:

  • temperature increase, heatwaves, and other heat-related changes;
  • thawing permafrost;
  • changing precipitation patterns, extreme weather events and droughts;
  • loss of sea, river, and lake ice;
  • ocean acidification;
  • melting glaciers and sea level rise; and
  • increasingly frequent and severe wildfires and smoke.

The plaintiffs sought a declaration that the contested provisions of State law violate their public trust rights to equal access to public trust resources and to sustained yield of public trust resources free from substantial impairment. They argued that the state of Alaska has a duty under the public trust doctrine to ensure “the continuing availability of public trust resources for present and future generations”.

In addition, they sought a declaration that they have a fundamental right to a climate system that sustains human life, liberty, and dignity under the Alaskan Constitution, which is being violated by the contested statutory provisions.

The youth plaintiffs also petitioned the court to enjoin the defendants from taking further actions to advance or develop the Alaska LNG Project. They sought costs and expenses as well as “such other and further relief as the Court deems just and equitable.”

Recent developments:
In October 2024, it was reported that the state of Alaska had asked the Court to dismiss the case.

2024.05.22.AK+LNG+ComplaintDownload

Last updated:
14 November 2024

Categories
2022 Children and young people Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation Imminent risk Indigenous peoples' rights Public trust doctrine Uncategorized United States of America

Sagoonick et al. v. State of Alaska I

Summary:
In 2017, sixteen children and young people — including some who were members of Alaskan Indigenous peoples — filed suit against the U.S. State of Alaska arguing by the state’s climate and energy policy violated their constitutional rights. Because the policy in question authorized and facilitated activities producing greenhouse gas emissions, the plaintiffs alleged violations of their due process rights to life, liberty, and property under the Alaskan Constitution, as well as their right to a stable climate system. The argued that the state government and relevant agencies had, “knowingly and with deliberate indifference”, created a dangerous situation for them, in violation of their constitutional rights. The plaintiffs also made an equal protection claim and alleged a violation of Alaska’s public trust doctrine.

The plaintiffs sought declaratory relief. They sought a declaration that the state had a constitutional duty to protect their constitutional rights, as well as a duty under the public trust doctrine to protect Alaska’s waters, atmosphere, land, fish, wildlife, and other public trust resources. They sought a declaration that the state’s climate and energy policy had violated their rights and placed them “in a position of danger with deliberate indifference to their safety” and had “materially caused, contributed to, and/or exacerbated climate change and discriminated against Youth Plaintiffs as members of a protected class, and with respect to their fundamental rights”. They sought an order for the state to prepare a complete and accurate accounting of Alaska’s GHG emissions and an enforceable state climate recovery plan.

Alaska Superior Court Judgment:
On 30 October 2018, the Alaska Superior Court rejected the case, arguing that it was indistinguishable from previous climate cases based on the public trust doctrine and that it concerned political questions which were not justiciable. The plaintiffs appealed.

Alaska Supreme Court Judgment:
In 2022, on appeal, the Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the case (see full text of the judgment below). The Court found that the applicants’ claims concerned non-justiciable political questions and found that it could not make “the legislative policy judgments necessary to grant the requested injunctive relief.”

Judge Maassen, dissenting, argued that he was “no longer convinced that nothing can be gained by clarifying Alaskans’ constitutional rights and the State’s corresponding duties in the context of climate change”, and that the public trust doctrine under the Alaskan Constitution provided a right to a livable climate.

Additional developments:
A follow-up case, Sagoonick et al. v. State of Alaska II, was filed in 2022.

Sagoonick IDownload

Suggested citation:
Supreme Court of Alaska, Sagoonick et al. v. State of Alaska I, 28 January 2022, No. 3AN-17-09910 CI.

Last updated:
14 November 2024

Categories
Emissions reductions/mitigation EU/European Court of Justice European Convention on Human Rights Fossil fuel extraction

GLAN v. the EU (methane emissions)

Summary:
On 16 October 2024, the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), which previously supported the Duarte Agostinho climate case at the European Court of Human Rights, announced that it had filed a climate case before the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU). The case argues that the European Union (EU) must address its methane emissions in order to protect human rights from irreversible climate impacts. More concretely, it challenges the EU’s alleged failure to limit methane emissions linked with gas imports.

According to GLAN, this is the first case in Europe focusing on States’ human rights obligations in relation to methane emissions. Arguing that methane emissions are responsible for ca. 30% of global warming, GLAN argues that reductions in methane emissions are necessary to protect human rights against the worsening impacts of climate change.

The case concerns the AggregateEU mechanism, which works to stabilise gas prices. Relying on the landmark KlimaSeniorinnen case before the European Court of Human Rights, GLAN argues that the lack of any limits on methane emissions associated with the gas sold through AggregateEU violates human rights. The application seeks to establish that the EU has a binding obligation to limit the imports of fossil fuels with a high methane intensity.

More information:
More information is available on GLAN’s dedicated case page, available here.

Last updated:
13 November 2024

Categories
Emissions reductions/mitigation EU/European Court of Justice Paris Agreement Right to a healthy environment Right to health

CAN Europe and Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) v. European Commission

Summary:

CAN Europe and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) have taken legal action against the European Commission before the General Court of the EU, challenging its greenhouse gas emissions allocations under the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), which covers sectors like buildings, agriculture, waste, transport, and small industry, responsible for about 57% of the EU’s total emissions. The NGOs argue that the Commission’s current climate goals, including the Annual Emissions Allocations (AEAs) for Member States, are insufficient to meet international climate commitments and protect human rights.

In particular, the NGOs argue that the AEAs under the revised 2030 target, set following the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package, do not sufficiently limit emissions to stay within the 1.5°C global warming target agreed upon in the Paris Agreement. They claim that the Commission failed to conduct proper assessments of global emissions reductions, the EU’s fair share of those reductions, and the impacts of climate change on human rights. The NGOs are pushing for the AEAs to be revised to a more ambitious reduction target of at least 65% by 2030.

Claim:

CAN Europe and GLAN are challenging the European Commission’s decision to set emissions targets for Member States that they deem inadequate to protect fundamental human rights and comply with environmental law. They argue that the Commission’s current Annual Emissions Allocations (AEAs), which allow a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, are insufficient. The NGOs claim that the Commission failed to make necessary assessments about the EU’s fair share of global reductions, the feasibility of domestic emissions reductions, and the impacts of climate change on human rights. They demand the Commission to revise the AEAs and increase the EU’s overall 2030 climate target to a 65% reduction in emissions.

Latest Developments and Significance:

In August 2024, CAN Europe and GLAN submitted their final legal arguments to the General Court, marking a significant step in the case. The European Commission is expected to submit its final observations in September 2024. This case follows the Commission’s rejection of the NGOs’ internal review request in December 2023, which prompted the legal action in February 2024. The case has been given priority by the Court due to its urgency.

The case is significant because it directly challenges the EU’s current climate policies, specifically the adequacy of the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package in meeting global climate goals. A favorable ruling for the NGOs could force the European Commission to revise its emissions targets and adopt more stringent measures to prevent climate change, potentially setting a new precedent for environmental law in Europe. It could also align EU climate action more closely with fundamental human rights and science-based climate targets, as called for by the Paris Agreement.

This case follows the landmark KlimaSeniorinnen ruling from the European Court of Human Rights, which established the requirement for States to adopt science-based emissions targets. If the EU Court takes a similar stance, this case could reshape the legal landscape for climate action within the EU, pushing for more aggressive and immediate measures to combat climate change.

Status of the case:

The case is currently pending before the General Court of European Union.

Links:

The related documents are accessible here, here, and here.

Suggested case citation: CAN Europe and Global Legal Action Network v. European Commission (General Court of the European Union, pending).

Last updated:

13 October 2024.

Categories
Children and young people Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation Paris Agreement Right to culture Right to development and work Right to health Right to housing Right to life Right to property

Environmental Rights Foundation and others v. Taiwan  

Summary:
On 30 January 2024, Taiwanese environmental groups, along with children and other individual plaintiffs, petitioned the Taiwanese Constitutional Court to demand intergenerational climate justice from the government. Their case challenges the 2023 Climate Change Response Act (氣候變遷因應法) because it does not include short and medium-term national periodic regulatory goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In doing so, the plaintiffs contest the government’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 23-25% compared to 2005 levels, which they considered insufficiently ambitious.

The case was brought by an NGO, the Environmental Rights Foundation, along with individuals who allege that they are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (including because of their livelihoods related to farming and fishing, by virtue of their Indigenous heritage and culture, or because they are children).  

The plaintiffs argue that the current regulation does not adequately safeguard their right to life, right to bodily integrity and health, right to survival, right to housing, right to work, property rights and cultural rights. They argue that the legislature has forsaken its obligation to ensure an adequate regulatory framework including a cross-generational allocation of greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The 23-25% reductions target does not allow Taiwan to reach net zero by 2050 and is insufficiently protective of fundamental rights. The plaintiffs argue that, under current measures, Taiwan will exhaust its remaining carbon budget for a 1.5°C and 1.7°C world by 2030. In addition, the current measures do not set sufficient interim yearly goals because it lacks goals for the period from 2026 to 2030.

Last updated:
4 October 2024