Peter Lockley acts for Global Feedback, an NGO campaigning for a sustainable food system, in a challenge to the Government Food Strategy. On 16 June, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal granted permission for judicial review of the failure to include any measures to tackle meat consumption, which the Climate Change Committee (CCC) says are essential to meet carbon budgets and the Net Zero target.
The Court of Appeal accepted there were reasonable prospects of arguing that the Secretary of State failed to discharge duties under the Climate Change Act 2008, and to have cogent reasons for departing from the advice of the expert CCC. The case hinges on whether the on-going duty under s.13 CCA – to prepare policies and proposals that will enable carbon budgets to be met – applied to the Food Strategy. The Claimant argues they must do, given that the 2021 Net Zero Strategy relied on the Food Strategy to make some of the necessary emissions reductions, even though it had not yet been developed. Issues about the on-going nature of the s.13 duty are of broader relevance, including to a similar challenge to the ‘Jet Zero’ aviation strategy, in which Peter is also acting for the claimant.
The Court of Appeal will hear the judicial review claim in the autumn.
Coverage of the claim can be found here.
