After Brexit, the UK government set up a new national environmental governance system in England to replace EU processes and oversight. This includes a duty on UK government ministers to apply environmental principles when they develop, revise or repeal policies.

This was meant to ensure that environmental matters are considered up front in government policy making: and with substance, rigour and an open mind. The case is the first serious examination by the judiciary of this important environmental duty. Through its intervention in this case, Green Alliance aims to provide evidence and insight from its involvement in how the duty was conceived, formulated and implemented, to assist the Court of Appeal’s consideration.

Green Alliance has been granted permission to intervene in the appeal in the case of R (Rights Community Action Ltd) v the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which is going to be heard by the Court of Appeal on 24 and 25 June.

For more information, contact:
Ruth Chambers, senior fellow