Climate Change Mitigation Policies meaning

The opinion is landmark. It bears far-reaching consequences for the evolution of international law, the corpus of international climate change law and related litigation, and for controversies determined under international investment treaties. I. UNFCCC: Article 4(2) is binding and interrelated to Article 2 The court records that Annex 1 [developed] countries are subject to a binding legal duty to implement climate measures that reduce GHG emissions. This amounts to an obligation of result. Equally, one cannot conclude that an obligation of result—such as the duty to adopt national policies and take corresponding measures on the mitigation of climate change—is satisfied simply by adopting some policies and taking related steps. Compliance requires that the policies adopted and measures taken are capable of achieving the stipulated aim. Put differently, adopting a policy and taking related measures as a box-ticking exercise does not suffice to discharge the obligation of result (para [208]). Those instruments must be capable, in practice, of ultimately reaching the required objective. Mere formalities, however,...

R (on the application of Friends of the Earth Ltd and others) v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2024] EWHC 2707 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The court clarified the scope of the Secretary of State’s obligations under CCA 2008, s 58. A wide margin of discretion applies, creating a high hurdle for any legal challenge to a national adaptation programme (NAP). The Secretary of State is not required to provide the level of granularity demanded for policies and proposals under CCA 2008, s 13; no fixed degree of specificity is mandated. While the Committee on Climate Change (CCC)’s critiques formed part of the decision‑making context, they did not show that NAP3 rested on a legal error. Claimants whose homes face climate‑related risks (such as coastal erosion for the second applicant) or who are particularly vulnerable (to hotter summers for the third applicant) had standing to pursue human rights arguments, but those claims ultimately...

National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) Under the NPPF, local planning authorities are urged to frame policies that optimise renewable and low carbon energy schemes, while satisfactorily tackling adverse effects, including cumulative landscape and visual impacts. Where proposals would otherwise be unacceptable, planning conditions and obligations can secure acceptability. Conditions should only be attached when they are: necessary; relevant to planning and to the development to be permitted; enforceable; precise; and reasonable in all other respects. Planning obligations are governed by the 'reasonableness tests' in the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations. See Practice Note: Planning conditions—key points. The former Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) issued sample conditions for wind energy developments. The National Policy Statement for Renewable Energy Infrastructure (the Renewables NPS) also offers guidance on various forms of mitigation for onshore wind farm impacts. However, determining authorities should tailor these, where appropriate, to the particular circumstances of the case. Under the usual planning regime, the local planning...

This Practice Note considers the law and policy surrounding flooding in Scotland: offering a synopsis of legislation, policy, and the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 (FRM(S)A 2009) setting out how flood risk is managed and the responsibilities of various statutory bodies signposting guidance for developers on instances where flood impacts must be evaluated as part of due diligence exploring potential strategies to reduce flooding, alongside wider mitigation examining controlled activity licences Flooding can inflict severe harm on people and enterprises. The Scottish government has recognised the growing dangers and consequences of flooding across Scotland due to climate change, and has produced national policy and devolved law to address the effects of heightened flood risk in Scotland. These policies and legislation embrace catchment-scale, precautionary methods for managing flood risk and emphasise the need for flood management to regulate new development that could be vulnerable to flooding or otherwise increase flood risk. The Scottish government, working with other public bodies, has...