Climate Watch: the British Government being sued over new dirty electricity generating capacity
Simple – The UK has carbon targets to meet – though recent arguments suggest that these targets are increasingly irrelevant. The country cannot meet the targets with extra fossil-fuel generating capacity. The Government is advised and ignores. The capacity concerned is Drax power station in Yorkshire. Currently Drax has 2 coal-fired stations that should be phased out by 2025. The new station will use gas fossil-fuel and could be responsible for 75 per cent of UK power station emissions when fully operational. The 3.6GW plant would potentially contravene the Climate Change Act of 2008. There will be no carbon capture technology fitted to the plant. The electricity generated will also be more expensive than renewable sources.
In October 2019, Andrea Leadsom (right), Secretary of State for business, energy and industrial strategy, approved the plans against 
advice. The High Court has now given permission to ClientEarth, a law charity, to sue the Government, with a possible hearing in the Spring. The Government does not have a good record on defending itself in the courts against environmental claims.
Pictures: Drax Plc, Andrea Leadsom, Chris McAndrew
Original reporting, The Guardian, 30 January 2020
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