Supreme Court to hear environmental costs case

A groundbreaking legal battle concerning costs caps for environmental cases is heading to the Supreme Court, following the UK government's attempt to dismiss a challenge regarding its trade agreement with Australia. Campaign group Foodrise argues that the potential impacts of climate change were insufficiently assessed before the implementation of this agreement in UK legislation. In response to Foodrise's legal challenge, the government approached the Court of Appeal (CoA) to contest the costs cap established under the Aarhus Convention, claiming the case was not genuinely about environmental issues. The CoA ruled in favour of the government, prompting Foodrise to seek a hearing in the Supreme Court in a bid to overturn this decision.

Foodrise asserts that eliminating the costs cap will render their claims prohibitively expensive and create a damaging precedent that impedes access to justice for environmental campaigners. Their judicial review targets the legislation underpinning the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement, with Foodrise contending that the agreement poses risks to the environment due to the higher climate impacts of meat and dairy production in Australia. The organisation highlights the larger emissions footprint and heightened deforestation associated with Australian-produced meat and dairy compared to British produce.

The group challenges that the government ignored the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change when endorsing the trade agreement, posing concerns about potential negative effects on British meat and dairy producers. In June 2024, the courts granted permission for all three key arguments in Foodrise's case alongside an Aarhus costs cap, which limits legal costs for NGOs to £10,000. However, the government took legal action in July 2024 against the CoA’s granting of the costs cap, ultimately winning the case in May 2025.

In July, Foodrise won the right to appeal to the Supreme Court against this ruling. The organisation warns that the government’s challenge might breach the Aarhus Convention, a treaty that enhances public access to environmental justice, which the UK signed in 1998. Carina Millstone, executive director at Foodrise, stated, “We’re taking this to the Supreme Court as the ramifications of this decision go far, far further than our challenge to the government’s catastrophic and unscrutinised UK-Australia trade deal." Leigh Day solicitor Rowan Smith, representing Foodrise, added, “Protecting access to environmental justice and holding decision-makers to account is a hugely important matter."