Chris Packham settles net zero legal action against government

Chris Packham has reached a settlement with the government over two legal challenges against its decision to remove or delay some environmental policies.

The TV presenter took legal action against the previous Conservative government in late 2023, arguing it acted unlawfully by delaying some policies aimed at helping the UK reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

Law firm Leigh Day said Packham had reached “a legal settlement” with the new Labour government that said the Tory administration “had acted unlawfully” by axing or watering down climate policies.

The government said it had settled both cases as it would reconsider the decisions as it updates its carbon budget delivery plan (CBDP).

The CBDP aims to outline how the UK will reach targets set out in the sixth carbon budget, which runs until 2037, as part of wider efforts to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

In 2023, the previous Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that several schemes in the CBDP would be dropped or rolled back – prompting Packham’s legal challenge.

The revised measures included delaying the ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars from 2030 to 2035, reducing the phase-out of gas boilers from 100% to 80% by 2035, and scrapping the requirement for energy efficiency upgrades for homes.

At the time, Sunak said the UK’s approach to meeting its net zero target was imposing “unacceptable costs on hard-pressed British families”, amid a cost of living crisis exacerbated by higher energy prices.

In May, a High Court judge ruled that the government acted unlawfully by approving the scaled-back CBDP, finding the decision was “simply not justified by the evidence”.

In a statement, Packham described the previous government’s decisions as “reckless and irresponsible short-termism” and said he was “very pleased” that the new government had “pledged to do better”.

The nature presenter and environmentalist will also meet with energy and net zero secretary Ed Miliband “to discuss future progress addressing climate breakdown”, his lawyers said.

A hearing due to take place in November at the High Court will now not go ahead, Leigh Day confirmed.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) spokesman said: “We have carefully considered the two legal cases launched by Chris Packham against the government in November 2023 and May 2024.

“We have now settled both cases, on the basis we reconsider the challenged decisions as part of our work to update our carbon budget delivery plan.”