Who says you can’t deal with climate change in court?

Jonathan Crow QC, Attorney General to HRH Prince of Wales, is one of the lawyers representing Plan B - a charitable organisation - and 11 citizens ranging in age from 9 to 79. They are challenging the UK government over its inaction on climate change. The legal challenge is supported by the Green Party. 

Plan B and others v the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy will use the successful Dutch case Urgenda Foundation v. The State of the Netherlands as legal precedent. In what was the first climate liability of its kind, the Dutch court ruled that climate change was a serious threat to life, that the Government had a duty of care to protect its citizens, and that its inadequate policies on climate change breached that duty.

James Hansen, one of the world's leading climate scientists, has said that Plan B's court case could have 'a big impact on the whole global situation'.  

Supporters are welcome to attend at the Royal Courts of Justice, Court 76 from Wednesday 4 July 2018, 9.00 a.m. onwards   

www.planb.earth

A flooded street in Thailand, 2011

We're asking our three Southwark MPs if they will oppose airport expansion - both to protect residents from noise and pollution and to combat climate change. The question has been asked in Southwark News and by individual members. We are still waiting for the MPs to let us know where they stand. If you live in Southwark, you can help by emailing your MP:

• Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark): neil.coyle.mp@parliament.uk
• Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham): harriet.harman.mp@parliament.uk
• Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood): helen.hayes.mp@parliament.uk

Please remember to include your address, so that they know you live in their constituency.

On Thursday 22 December, Southwark Green Party member Tom Venner-Woodcock will appear at Ealing Magistrates Court. He was part of a group of 15 people who blockaded a road near Heathrow last month. His protest highlights the serious risks that airport expansion poses to Londoners' health and the global climate.

On 9 November, less than 24 hours after the election of climate change denier Donald Trump, Green Party members from Southwark and Lambeth attended the annual Dulwich and West Norwood (DaWN) Speak Up for the Climate meeting, organised by DaWN MP Helen Hayes.