The government could be in the dock over its failure to protect disabled people from climate crisis

Friends of the Earth and two co-claimants are appealing against the High Court’s decision in October to reject their legal challenge to the government’s inadequate climate adaptation plans.

The decision to appeal comes as one of the co-claimants – Kevin Jordan – prepares to mark the first anniversary of his Norfolk home being demolished (on 9 December) as a result of coastal erosion.

With Storm Darragh battering the UK with high winds this weekend, there are fears that the fragile Hemsby coastline could face further erosion.

Climate adaptation plan is woefully inadequate

Friends of the Earth is launching the appeal alongside two people whose lives have already been severely impacted by the climate crisis.

Kevin Jordan, whose home in Hemsby, Norfolk was demolished in December 2023 after coastal erosion, fuelled by sea level rise and severe storms caused by climate change, left it in danger of falling into the sea.

Disability activist Doug Paulley, who has a number of health conditions which are being exacerbated by searing summer temperatures. He’s concerned that the government’s current adaptation plans fail to consider the needs of disabled people – particularly in places such as care homes – putting him and others at risk.

Friends of the Earth and the co-claimants argued that the current climate adaptation “National Adaptation Programme (NAP)”, introduced by the previous government in July 2023, falls far short of what’s legally required, with marginalised groups – such as older and disabled people – and those living in areas most exposed to rising global temperatures, disproportionately affected by the impacts of extreme weather and a deficient national adaptation programme.

The judge was wrong

Friends of the Earth is appealing on the grounds that the judge was wrong to conclude that non-specific and unmeasurable adaptation objectives could be lawfully set under the Climate Change Act, and that an assessment of the risk that the policies and plans would fail to deliver their intended impact was not legally required.

The co-claimants also maintain that their human rights have been breached in the making of the plan, not least due to the lack of efficacy in the programme but also due to the failure to include marginalised groups – such as disabled people – in the decision-making process.

The court is expected to make a decision on whether to allow the appeal in 2-3 months’ time.

As the climate crisis escalates, the effects are increasingly being felt by communities across the country, such as those still dealing with the aftermath of Storm Bert that hit in late November, which left some disabled and elderly people in Wales struggling to get bottled water following fears that tap water may have been contaminated.

Kevin Jordan said:

As the anniversary of my home being lost to coastal erosion approaches, it is heart-breaking to see more homes on the Hemsby coastline under threat.

Climate change is fuelling this crisis. When I bought my home 15 years ago, I was advised it would be safe for decades to come.

The government’s climate adaptation plan is seriously inadequate and unless it is massively improved, communities across the country will be at risk from our rapidly changing weather.

I hope this appeal succeeds and forces the government to give better protection to the hundreds of thousands of homes in England currently at risk of coastal flooding and erosion.

Climate adaptation should not be an afterthought

Doug Paulley said:

The current National Adaptation Programme is not fit for purpose as it fails to protect disabled people from the impacts of climate change.

I am delighted that we are appealing against the High Court ruling earlier this year. We need an adaptation plan that better protects us all – especially those most at risk and whose lives are disproportionally affected by our rapidly changing climate.

Friends of the Earth’s head of legal, Will Rundle, said:

We maintain that the government’s climate adaptation plan is unlawful and believe there are serious errors in the High Court ruling.

The UK is woefully iIl-prepared for the escalating impacts of the climate crisis, putting millions of people at risk from increasingly severe and more frequent storms, floods and heatwaves.

The government admits that the previous administration’s approach to climate adaptation has “left Britain badly exposed”. We urgently need a new and robust adaptation programme to help safeguard our homes and communities for the future.

Featured image via Friends of the Earth