ENVIRONMENTAL COURT CASES ACROSS THE WORLD

This case study details a legal challenge brought by Greenpeace Spain, Oxfam Intermón, and Ecologistas en Acción against the Government of Spain, alleging that the state's climate actions and its National Energy and Climate Plan were inadequate and violated EU regulations and the Paris Agreement.

• Applicants Greenpeace Spain, Oxfam Intermón, and Ecologistas en Acción alleged that the Spanish government violated Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 by failing to take adequate action on climate change, specifically regarding the requirement to approve a National Energy and Climate Plan with 2030 goals and a Long Term Strategy for 2050 by 2019.
• The applicants argued that Spain's draft plan was inconsistent with IPCC recommendations and the Paris Agreement, noting that the plan set an emissions goal of 23% by 2030, whereas a 1.5-degree warning limit would require a 55% reduction target.
• The applicants criticized the draft plan for promoting fossil fuels for road transportation and using ambiguous terms regarding "alternative fuels," which they claimed could be exploited by the transport sector.
• The Supreme Court of Spain rejected the government's motion to dismiss the case following the approval of the National Energy and Climate Plan in March 2021. The court ruled that the case could proceed because it challenged the ambition and alignment of the Plan with the Paris Agreement, rather than just the fact that a plan had been passed.
• The case is part of a wider European trend of climate litigation, exemplified by a 2021 European Court of Human Rights case where 33 governments were required to prove they were meeting Paris Agreement emissions obligations following a suit by six Portuguese youth activists.

APA

Natural Justice (2021). ENVIRONMENTAL COURT CASES ACROSS THE WORLD. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Greenpeace-v.-Espana.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. ENVIRONMENTAL COURT CASES ACROSS THE WORLD. 2021. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Greenpeace-v.-Espana.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=ENVIRONMENTAL COURT CASES ACROSS THE WORLD |date=December 2021 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Greenpeace-v.-Espana.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljustice2021environmental, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{ENVIRONMENTAL COURT CASES ACROSS THE WORLD}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Greenpeace-v.-Espana.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }