Chris Packham settles net zero legal action against government

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.”