Warming: deemed imprecise, Irish government's plan overturned in court

The Irish Supreme Court on Friday (July 31) overturned the government's plan to fight global warming, ruling that these projects, which provide for a transition to a low-carbon economy by 2050, lacked precision. This decision forced the government to reformulate its plan.

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The lawsuit, led by the Friends of the Irish Environment association, argued that the action plan presented in 2017 violated the law obliging the Irish state to clarify its proposals. In his decision, Magistrate Frank Clarke considered that there was " a clear legal obligation for the government (...) to provide at least some level of realistic detail ". For the magistrate, the plan is " far from being as precise as required by law ", he added, canceling the plan on the grounds that it did not fulfill its " legal obligations ".

During the proceedings, the government argued that this appeal amounted to challenging its political decisions, which in its view fell outside the scope of issues that can be the subject of legal action. The government had also affirmed that its plan was a document brought to evolve, and did not bring " a complete roadmap to reach the objective set at 2050, but began the process ".

The Supreme Court for its part considered that " the public is entitled to know how the government intends to achieve " its commitments by 2050. In a law adopted in 2015, the government committed to present its plans for " a transition to a low-carbon economy ”and“ ecologically sustainable by the end of the year 2050 ”.

Ireland has also pledged to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by 2050 from its 1990 level in power generation, construction and transport.