Centre for Environmental Justice → Climate and Environmental Casework

Climate and Environmental Casework

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to human rights, posing a serious risk to life, health, food and an adequate standard of living of individuals and communities across the world. Communities who experience disadvantage or marginalisation are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, pollution, energy poverty and other environmental harms.

One of the primary goals of Community Law & Mediation and the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) is to empower and equip individuals, community groups and organisations to challenge environmental injustice using the law. We aim to ensure that environmental policy addresses inequality and is informed by the needs of the marginalised communities who are impacted the most.

Below, we update you on the national and EU climate cases that the CEJ is involved in. We explore how climate litigation plays a crucial role as a tool to enforce or enhance climate commitments made by governments in the face of failure to meet emissions reductions targets, and the increasingly visible impacts of climate change.

Climate Justice for Future Generations Case 2024

Community Law & Mediation and citizens join forces in landmark challenge of inadequate Government action on climate change

On 9^th September 2024, Community Law & Mediation, alongside three individuals spanning generations – a grandfather, a youth climate activist, and a child – were granted leave to proceed with a landmark court case challenging inadequate Government action on climate change. This case is currently awaiting a hearing date.

In taking this case, those most impacted by climate change seek to hold the Irish government to account.

The case concerns the adequacy of Climate Action Plan 2024, given that Ireland is significantly off track to cut greenhouse gas emissions in line with it legally binding obligations.

Ireland’s Climate Action Plan, and its Annex of Actions,is published annually with the purpose of setting a roadmap for meeting Ireland’s legally binding carbon budget (ie, the total amount of emissions that may be emitted in the State during a five-year period).

Why are we taking this case?

Grandfather: My involvement in this case is grounded in my concern for the future of my grandson, now three years of age. The scientific evidence strongly suggests that within his lifetime there will be widespread, large-scale, climatic and societal disruptions that will negatively affect his welfare and life chances. To a lesser extent I am concerned for my own welfare as an older person who is more vulnerable to the impact of extreme weather events such as heatwaves. It is my firm belief, that the government’s Climate Action Plans are inadequate to ensure the rights to safety and health of its most vulnerable citizens.

Youth climate activist: Since 2019, I have marched, rallied, made speeches, distributed banners, spent hundreds of Fridays outside of City Hall in Cork City as part of the ‘Fridays for Future’ campaign which I began in Ireland in January 2019. I have tried for years to make clear to decision makers the urgency of climate change. The Government is consistently failing to deal with this intergenerational issue appropriately.

Community Law & Mediation: Today’s young people will face more extreme and frequent climate impacts than any generation before. Those from underserved and marginalised communities, the very groups Community Law & Mediation has worked with for more than 50 years, face disproportionate risks to their livelihoods, health, food security and overall quality of life as a result of more frequent and extreme climate impacts. Our government is not doing enough to protect communities from the growing harms of climate change. That is why we are standing with a grandfather, a student climate activist and a child to challenge inadequate government action on climate change. This case marks the first time that Community Law & Mediation is itself acting as a client. In doing so, we act to protect the rights of those who stand to be most affected by climate change but are least able to defend their rights.

We believe that:

1. Ireland’s legally binding climate targets must be adhered to: Ireland’s emissions are not falling quickly enough to meet the legally binding carbon budget targets set for 2025 and 2030. Minister Darragh O’Brien recently stated that Ireland will miss its 2030 emission reduction target by half. This is not acceptable. Climate Action Plans are a key pillar in Ireland’s efforts to reduce its emissions and must set out a sufficiently clear roadmap for effective climate action in line with Ireland’s legal obligations.

2. Inadequate climate action risks increasing inequality in Ireland: climate change poses a threat to our livelihoods, health, food and standard of living. Under-served communities are most at risk of being impacted by runaway climate change, despite having contributed least to the problem. States are responsible for protecting us from the climate crisis and they can and should be held accountable if they fail to protect human rights.

3. Safeguarding the rights of younger and future generations: In the face of mounting scientific evidence demonstrating the gravity of the climate crisis, we must act now to safeguard the rights of younger and future generations who will be disproportionately impacted by climate change but have least opportunity to protect or vindicate their rights.

What is this case about?

This case is the first of its kind in Ireland. In bringing it, we are seeking a declaration from the Court that the Government has failed to comply with its own law, the Climate and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended).

We argue that the Climate Action Plan 2024 (CAP24), which sets out the Government’s roadmap for meeting Ireland’s legally binding carbon budget, does not meet the legal standards set by the Oireachtas. As such, it undermines the State’s efforts to deliver effective climate action in line with Ireland’s legal obligations.

Specifically, we argue that CAP24 is not in compliance with the first carbon budget or the carbon budget programme and was prepared, submitted and approved in breach of the 2015 Act. Furthermore, we argue that CAP24 violates the fundamental rights of the three individual applicants, marginalised groups that CLM represents, and future generations, as protected by the Constitution of Ireland 1937, the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights.

This case builds on the landmark judgment from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the Klimaseniorinnen case in April 2024, in which the Court found that that the Swiss government’s inadequate action on emissions is a violation the right to respect for privacy and family life, protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

What do we hope to achieve?

In the face of mounting scientific evidence demonstrating the gravity of the climate crisis, we must act now to safeguard the rights of younger and future generations who will be disproportionately impacted by climate change but have least opportunity to protect or vindicate their rights. The Climate Action Plans are a key pillar in Ireland’s efforts to reduce its emissions and must set out a sufficiently clear roadmap for effective climate action and to ensure it is a meaningful tool for monitoring and ensuring accountability on Government climate action.

We are asking the Government to follow its own law, to ensure that Ireland’s climate policy meets the legal standards required to protect people, communities, and future generations from the increasing impacts of climate change.

Why is litigation neccessary?

1. Legal action has become necessary for us as a means of ensuring that the Government takes its obligations on climate change seriously. Inaction on climate change is not an abstract policy failure – it is a direct threat to our lives and fundamental rights, and those of our children and grandchildren.

2. We don’t press restart every January. As with any budget, when we don’t live within our limits in any one year, the deficit is carried over to subsequent budgets making compliance increasingly difficult. This would mean that instead of there being enough of the budget and time left to transition to a more equitable and sustainable way of living, Ireland risks an abrupt and disorderly transition that will have a disproportionate impact on already underserved communities.

3. The gap between what the Government has committed to doing and what it is actually doing is widening and we are running out of time. Irish people want climate action – the overwhelming majority believe that stronger climate action will improve quality of life. This case is trying to ensure that the Government adheres to its obligations on climate change, protects children, citizens and communities from the most dangerous impacts of the climate crisis and prevents the need for more abrupt and forceful action later.

Jargon Buster

Note: Ireland’s Climate Action Plan, and its Annex of Actions, is published annually.

The Climate Action Plan: The purpose of the Climate Action Plan is to set out a roadmap for meeting Ireland’s 2021-2025 legally binding carbon budget, that is, the total amount of emissions that may be emitted in the State during a five-year period. The Climate Action Plan is published annually.

Annex of Actions: The Annex of Actions provide more detail on the actions required to achieve the targets set out in the Climate Action Plan. The purpose of the Annex is to drive continued delivery of climate action across all government departments and bodies in a targeted and measurable form. The Annex of Actions is published annually, alongside the Climate Action Plan.

The Carbon Budget Programme: The carbon budget programme sets out the carbon budgets for the years 2021-2025; 2026-2030; and 2031-2035. The Carbon Budget Programme is adopted by the Government and approved by the Oireachtas in accordance with sections 6A and 6B of the Climate and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended).

Litigation: To take legal action.

Climate Action Plan Case 2023

The Centre for Environmental Justice at Community Law & Mediation is representing  Friends of the Irish Environment in its legal challenge of the Irish Government’s Climate Action Plan 2023 (CAP23).

In a related case, in 2023, a legal challenge was launched by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE), represented by Centre for Environmental Justice at Community Law & Mediation, against the Irish Government over its Climate Action Plan 2023 (CAP 23).

The case challenged the failure to show with a sufficient level of specificity that the CAP 23 and its Annex of Actions will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with Ireland’s legally binding carbon budgets. We argue that this is a breach of the Government’s legal duties under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended).

Why was this case taken?

“We are already seeing the devastating impact the climate crisis is having on communities across the world, especially those who have least contributed to the burning of fossil fuels. Ireland is not on track to meet its legally binding emissions reductions targets. The Climate Action Plan 2023 must have what the Supreme Court called a ‘sufficient level of specificity in the measures identified’ so that the roadmap for effective climate action is clear.“

Community Law & Mediation: “Given Ireland’s poor performance on emissions reductions to date, citizens have a right to know if and how Climate Action Plan 2023 will deliver the required emissions reductions in line with Ireland’s legally binding carbon budget for 2021-2025“.

Latest Developments

The High Court Outcome

The case was heard before the High Court in January, and a judgment was issued on February 7^th, 2025. The case was unsuccessful in the first instance. The High Court did not agree that FIE, represented by CLM, had provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the Climate Action Plan 2023 was inconsistent with the carbon budget. Although reports published by the EPA and CCAC highlighted the inadequacy of the Climate Actions Plan 2023, the High Court considered that expert evidence was also required. 

Importantly, the High Court judgment did not find in favour of Ireland’s current ambition or track record on climate action, emphasising that: “What this judgment most certainly is not a finding that Ireland’s climate ambitions are on track” and that “urgent and significant additional action is required.”

The judgment provides helpful, though non-binding, recommendations to the Government in relation to the development of climate action plans. For instance:

The High Court clarified that the requirement to ensure that the Climate Action Plan is “consistent with” the carbon budgets means that the Government must ensure consistency with an appropriately high level of confidence, as opposed to ensuring consistency with scientific certainty. The Court stressed that this doesn’t “water down the obligation to give detail,” noting that a “budget ultimately is meaningless without a bottom line, and a bottom line requires that all elements be quantified, even at an estimated amount.”

The Court suggests that to ensure consistency with the carbon budgets with “high confidence” the Climate Action Plan could provide for “more reductions than the budget requires, to allow for a shortfall in implementation.”

The judgment further suggests that when consulting the public on Climate Action Plans, the Department could publish a draft Plan to make the consultation process more meaningful.

However, in view of the findings made by the Hight Court regarding the need for expert evidence, and on the legal requirements applicable to climate action plans, our clients Friends of Irish Environment appealed to the Court of Appeal seeking their views on the interpretation of the Climate Act.

The Court of Appeal hearing

The appeal was heard on the 19 June 2025 by a three-judge division of the Court of Appeal comprising the President of the Circuit Court Ms. Justice Costello, Ms. Justice Butler and Mr. Justice Collins

FIE and CLM asked the Court of Appeal to consider the following grounds:

Whether the emissions reductions measures in the Climate Action Plan 2023 and Annex of Actions are sufficiently quantified, justified or explained as required by the mandatory obligations of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended in 2021).

The nature of the obligations on the Government in relation to a Climate Action Plan (and Annex of Actions) under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended in 2021), and in particular the requirement that the Minister “ensure” that the Climate Action Plan is “consistent with” the carbon budget programme.

If expert evidence required to demonstrate the absence of an explanation, justification or quantification from CAP 23 and the Annex of Actions.

Court of Appeal Judgment 19th March 2026

While acknowledging that the climate crisis is “probably the single most important issue facing our society”, on Thursday 19th March 2026, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court ruling that the onus of proof required to demonstrate that the Government had acted in breach of the 2015 Act when adopting Climate Action Plan 2023 had not been discharged.

Encouragingly, the Court recognised that “citizen engagement is still a hugely significant element of the climate planning process” and that “it is vital that non-governmental organisations and others with a genuine interest in the issue can exercise their right of access to the courts to litigate bona fide concerns when they arise.”

Supreme Court Appeal

On Earth Day 2026, FIE applied for leave to appeal this case to the Supreme Court. Leave was granted on the 1^st of July 2026.

In bringing the case to the Supreme Court, FIE are seeking clarity on the extent to which the Government, under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended in 2021), must quantify, justify or explain the emissions reductions measures set out in the Climate Action Plan and its obligation to “ensure” the Plan is “consistent with” the carbon budget programme.

This challenge concerning the adequacy of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan comes at a critical juncture for climate action globally and in Ireland. Despite declaring a climate and biodiversity emergency in 2019, Ireland’s emissions have remained persistently high. The most recent projections from the Environmental Protection Agency indicate that Ireland remains significantly off track to meet its national and EU climate targets, and the Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy, Darragh O’Brien has publicly acknowledged that Ireland will not achieve its legally binding 2030 emissions reduction target.

Tony Lowes, a Director at FIE said:  

“Actions speak louder than words. As the impacts of climate change worsen and the window to remain within 2C narrows, Ireland must prepare now for a fair and inclusive transition to a low-carbon society.  

This requires that Climate Action Plans set out a sufficiently clear roadmap for effective climate action while also serving as a meaningful mechanism for monitoring and ensuring accountability on Government climate action – as exemplified in the UK equivalent. 

We remain steadfast in our commitment to ensure the Government reduces emissions in line with its legal obligations.” 

Aoife Kelly-Desmond, CEO of Community Law & Mediation said:  

“The Environmental Protection Agency’s most recent projections show that Ireland remains significantly off track for meeting its national and EU climate targets. Current climate policies could deliver emission reductions of up to 25% by 2030, falling far short of Ireland’s legally binding carbon budgets. Both the Climate Change Advisory Council and the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council have warned Ireland may face fines of up to €26 billion if it does not reduce emissions in line with its EU obligations. 

Concerningly, against this backdrop, the Government is forwarding proposals that undermine climate governance and the effectiveness of our climate legislation. These include the disapplication of what the Supreme Court described as the ‘climate sense check’ under section 15 of the Climate Act in draft bills on Critical Infrastructure, the Dublin Airport Passenger Cap and Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve. Other retrograde proposals would bring in sweeping restrictions on judicial review and access to the courts for ordinary people. 

The ability of the public to access justice and hold Government to account for inadequate climate action is more crucial now than ever.”

Friends of the Irish Environment and Community Law & Mediation are committed to pursuing climate and environmental justice for all. 

A Supreme Court hearing date is awaited.

Climate Action Network Europe & Global Legal Action Network challenge the adequacy of EU climate targets

We are excited to be supporting NGOs Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe and Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) in a climate case against the European Commission. The Applicants, represented by CLM, have brought a case before the EU General Court in Luxembourg. The case, which was announced on 27^th August 2024 was heard before five-judge panel of the EU General Court on 24^th September 2025 and a judgment is expected in 2026.

The case concerns the adequacy of the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions allocations (AEAs) for EU Member States for 2021–2030 in a Commission implementing decision (EU) 2023/1319 made under the Effort Sharing Regulation. A judgment is expected in 2026.CAN Europe and GLAN are seeking an annulment of the Commission’s refusal of their request for internal review of the implementing decision setting the AEAs. The AEAs cover emissions from domestic transport (excluding aviation), buildings, agriculture, small industry, and waste. These sectors account for almost 60% of emissions in the EU.

CAN Europe and GLAN requested internal review based on the argument that the AEAs fall short of what is needed to keep global warming to 1.5° C and to safeguard fundamental human rights. They are asking the Court to require the Commission to reconsider the request for internal review of the AEAs.