Client Earth press Govt for "Clean Growth Plan"

[Chris Broome]

Hi all,

For your information, environmental lawyers, Client Earth, have written to the Government, pressing them to publish their "Clean Growth Plan". If you have not heard that term before, it started out being referred to as an "Emissions Reduction Plan" (out to 2032) but somewhere along the line, the title seems to have been changed to better reflect Government priorities !

The letter is here :

http://www.documents.clientearth.org/wp-content/uploads/library/2017-04-04-letter-to-nick-hurd-mp-on-delayed-publication-of-emissions-reduction-plan-ce-en.pdf

Business Green have also written about this : see http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3008335/clientearth-challenges-government-over-clean-growth-plan-delay

In case the link "disappears", I have copied the full text below.

Regards

Chris

BUSINESS GREEN ARTICLE :

Environmental law group raises possibility of legal action if government "continues to kick this can down the road"

Pressure is mounting on the government to publish its long-awaited emissions reduction plan, with environmental law firm NGO becoming the latest organisation to call for its release in a letter to the Climate Change Minister Nick Hurd. 

ClientEarth, which has already won court battles with the government over its air quality plans, challenged the government yesterday over its continued failure to publish the much-anticipated Clean Growth Plan, which will set out how it intends to reduce the UK's greenhouse gas emissions through to 2032.

It follows repeated calls from sectors across the green economy for the government to publish the plan, including from green building and energy efficiency groups. In the letter to Hurd, ClientEarth called on the government to confirm a timeframe for the plan, which was originally due in late 2016 but has been continually delayed since.

The UK is legally-bound to reduce its emissions by 57 per cent by 2032 compared to 1990 levels, and by at least 80 per cent by 2050, under the Climate Change Act. 

The ClientEarth letter asks the government to explain how it intends to meet its legal requirement to publish the plan "as soon as reasonably possible" and calls for businesses and civil society to be consulted on the plan when it emerges.

ClientEarth has urged the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to respond within 21 days, with the organisation's CEO James Thornton hinting that if the government "continues to kick this can down the road, we will have no option but to consider legal action".

"The government is long overdue to bring forward an ambitious plan that will close the persistent and unlawful gap between legally binding carbon budgets and current plans and policies," Thornton said in a statement. "An ambitious plan will drive investment and deliver the UK's climate change commitments. The plan was due in 2016. Businesses need certainty, investors need to know where to put their money, and people need to be protected from climate change."

Thornton added: "We want to work with the government on a strong, effective emissions reduction plan, but all we get is never-ending delays. Government must publish the plan, and must consult with industry and civil society."

BEIS said in a statement that the plan is a priority and the government intends to publish it "as early on in 2017 as possible, so that we can move on to the delivery stage".

"We are undertaking critical preparatory work to ensure we get it right and provide clear guidance on how the government is planning to reduce emissions through the 2020s," the statement adds.

The government has separately been the subject of ongoing legal action from ClientEarth over the UK's failure to meet EU targets for air pollution.

ClientEarth last week set out its key 'red lines' which it has said the government's forthcoming plan to reduce the UK's air pollution levels must meet, or it could yet again face going back to court. 

[Pause Forthought]

Dear All

Thanks Chris

The Emissions Reduction Plan/Clean Growth Plan would be an important
part of the evidence base for the local plans/neighbourhood plans
being prepared and reviewed. All planning authorities should (if they
cared about carbon emissions reductions) be writing to their MPs to
get the ERP in place so that they know what policies to include in
their plans. Government is for ever criticising planning authorities
for delaying their plans and much of the delay is down to central
government.

Regards

Daniel



On 12/04/2017, 'Chris Broome' via Climate Forum

<climatea...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
> For your information, environmental lawyers, Client Earth, have written to
> the Government, pressing them to publish their "Clean Growth Plan". If you
> have not heard that term before, it started out being referred to as an
> "Emissions Reduction Plan" (out to 2032) but somewhere along the line, the
> title seems to have been changed to better reflect Government priorities !
> The letter is here
> :http://www.documents.clientearth.org/wp-content/uploads/library/2017-04-04-letter-to-nick-hurd-mp-on-delayed-publication-of-emissions-reduction-plan-ce-en.pdf
>
> Business Green have also written about this :
> see http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3008335/clientearth-challenges-government-over-clean-growth-plan-delay
> In case the link "disappears", I have copied the full text below.
> RegardsChris
> BUSINESS GREEN ARTICLE :Environmental law group raises possibility of legal
> action if government "continues to kick this can down the road"Pressure is
> mounting on the government to publish its long-awaited emissions reduction
> plan, with environmental law firm NGO becoming the latest organisation to
> call for its release in a letter to the Climate Change Minister Nick
> Hurd. ClientEarth, which has already won court battles with the government
> over its air quality plans, challenged the government yesterday over its
> continued failure to publish the much-anticipated Clean Growth Plan, which
> will set out how it intends to reduce the UK's greenhouse gas emissions

> through to 2032.It follows repeated calls from sectors across the green

> economy for the government to publish the plan, including from green
> building and energy efficiency groups. In the letter to Hurd,
> ClientEarth called on the government to confirm a timeframe for the plan,
> which was originally due in late 2016 but has been continually delayed

> since.The UK is legally-bound to reduce its emissions by 57 per cent by 2032

> compared to 1990 levels, and by at least 80 per cent by 2050, under the
> Climate Change Act. The ClientEarth letter asks the government to explain
> how it intends to meet its legal requirement to publish the plan "as soon as
> reasonably possible" and calls for businesses and civil society to be

> consulted on the plan when it emerges.ClientEarth has urged the Department

> of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to respond within 21
> days, with the organisation's CEO James Thornton hinting that if the
> government "continues to kick this can down the road, we will have no option
> but to consider legal action"."The government is long overdue to bring
> forward an ambitious plan that will close the persistent and unlawful gap
> between legally binding carbon budgets and current plans and policies,"
> Thornton said in a statement. "An ambitious plan will drive investment and
> deliver the UK's climate change commitments. The plan was due in 2016.
> Businesses need certainty, investors need to know where to put their money,
> and people need to be protected from climate change."Thornton added: "We
> want to work with the government on a strong, effective emissions reduction
> plan, but all we get is never-ending delays. Government must publish the
> plan, and must consult with industry and civil society."BEIS said in a
> statement that the plan is a priority and the government intends to publish
> it "as early on in 2017 as possible, so that we can move on to the delivery
> stage"."We are undertaking critical preparatory work to ensure we get it
> right and provide clear guidance on how the government is planning to reduce

> emissions through the 2020s," the statement adds.The government has

> separately been the subject of ongoing legal action from ClientEarth over

> the UK's failure to meet EU targets for air pollution.ClientEarth last

> week set out its key 'red lines' which it has said the government's
> forthcoming plan to reduce the UK's air pollution levels must meet, or it
> could yet again face going back to court.
>

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[Tim Padmore]

Hi Chris

Well done for bringing this up. I only became aware of this in the last week. We're drafting a letter to give to our MPs on this. I've attached this but would like to stress that this may not be the final agreed draft. I hope can others can nick / make use of/ adapt/ re-draft  versions for their MPs.

Another dimension to this is that the ERP/ CGP was a significant part of the asks for the Climate Coalition's Speak Up week of action in October 2016. I've attached the MPs' briefing.

WWF also co-ordinated an industry letter expressing concern. You can read more on this here

https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/uks-low-carbon-buildings-sector-calls-uk-government-publish-climate-action-plan

UK’s low carbon buildings sector calls on UK Government to ... www.wwf.org.uk 30 construction, heat and energy efficiency organisations, including Arup and Kingfisher, today call on the UK Government to publish a strong ’Clean Growth Plan ...

There's Independent coverage on this as a footnote to to our draft letter.

All the best

Tim

---

From: 'Chris Broome' via Climate Forum <climatea...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: 12 April 2017 20:09
To: Climate Forum
Subject: [Climate Forum: 1949] Client Earth press Govt for "Clean Growth Plan"

 

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