- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
UK climate strategy under scrutiny at landmark court case
The British government on Tuesday faces an unprecedented legal challenge for allegedly failing to protect people, property and infrastructure from the likely effects of climate change.
Environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth and two men whose lives have been affected by rising temperatures have brought a two-day case at the High Court in London.
The case is the first of its kind in Britain and comes after criticism of the government's climate change risk management strategy and a landmark European court ruling against the Swiss state.
Friends of the Earth and the co-claimants will argue that Britain's National Adaptation Programme to protect against soaring temperatures, flooding or coastal erosion is inadequate and unlawful.
"For the first time in UK legal history, the High Court will have to determine whether the government's policy to adapt to climate change is lawful, including as to whether our clients' human rights have been breached," said lawyer Rowan Smith.
"This is truly a landmark climate change case, which is likely to have far-reaching implications for generations to come."
The latest National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) dates from July 2023 and has to be renewed every five years.
It sets out the government's climate adaptation aims, as well as the plans and policies to meet them and protect communities that could be affected.
The claimants' lawyers will submit that in drawing up the policy, the Conservative government, defeated earlier this month at a general election, failed to comply with the 2008 Climate Change Act.
The act forms the basis for the UK's approach to tackling and responding to climate change, requiring that carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases are cut and risks adapted to.
- 'Inadequate' -
The independent Climate Change Committee (CCC), which advises the government, has called for the NAP3 to be strengthened without delay, warning in March that it "falls far short of what is required".
One of the two co-claimants in the case, Kevin Jordan, 71, saw his seaside home demolished on the Norfolk coast in eastern England because of coastal erosion but has never received state compensation.
The other, disability activist Doug Palley, lives in a care home in northern England and says hotter summers affects his health and puts him at increased risk of serious harm.
Both described NAP3 as "inadequate" and breaches the rights of marginalised groups such as older and disabled people.
In April, the European Court of Human Rights made a historic ruling against Switzerland, deeming it was not doing enough to tackle climate change.
The case was brought by the Elders for Climate Protection -- 2,500 women with an average age of 73 -- who denounced the "failings of the Swiss authorities" on climate protection that could "seriously harm" their health.
The ruling was seen as potentially forcing other governments to adopt more ambitious climate policies.
In Britain, where in 2022 temperatures topped 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for the first time, the Tory government rowed back on its climate commitments, including pushing back targets banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars to 2035.
It also granted new licences for North Sea oil and gas exploration.
The CCC last week urged the new Labour government to act "fast" to put the country back on track to meet its 2030 climate goals.
"Only a third of the emissions reductions required to achieve the 2030 target are currently covered by credible plans," it said.
Since coming to power, Labour has scrapped a ban on onshore wind power projects, and said approval for a new UK coal mine was an "error of law".
H.Portela--PC