Ireland's National Mitigation Pian upheld in landmark challenge Friends of the Irish Environment ⅴ Ireland

摘要

On 19 September 2019 the Irish High Court ruled in favour of the Irish government following a challenge which was taken in relation to its alleged failure to tackle climate change. Mr Justice Michael MacGrath, delivering the judgment, refused to quash Ireland's National Mitigation Plan and remit it to the Government for redrafting, as demanded by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE). The case forms an important part of a growing body of recent litigation in which courts throughout the world have had to grapple with the science of climate change. For example, in the seminal case of Urgenda, the Dutch Court of Appeal upheld earlier judicial decisions ordering the Dutch government to cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 25% by the end of 2020 (compared to 1990 levels). FIE's case is the first of this kind in Ireland and its progress has attracted an overwhelming amount of public interest at a time when there is ever-greater evidence of the need to curb climate change. FIE has been granted leave to appeal the case directly to the Supreme Court, Ireland's highest court, thereby leapfrogging' the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal. The appeal will be heard on 22-23 June 202 by a full court of seven judges, a sitting which is reserved exceptionally for cases of particular public importance or complexity.