Planned £1.7bn A5 upgrade was wrongly blocked amid 'misinterpretation' of climate laws, court told (opens original article in a new tab)

The Court of Appeal heard that the £1.7bn A5 road upgrade was wrongly blocked due to a 'misinterpretation' of climate laws, with arguments that climate objectives should be assessed through a cumulative 'climate sense-check' rather than individual project analysis.

• The Court of Appeal heard that the £1.7bn A5 road upgrade was wrongly blocked due to a 'misinterpretation' of climate laws.
• Section 52 of the 2022 Climate Change Act requires Stormont departments to meet carbon emission targets but does not mandate granular analysis of individual projects.
• The appeal argues that climate objectives should be assessed through a cumulative 'climate sense-check' of all infrastructure and energy usage in Northern Ireland.
• Officials claim the A5 upgrade will not prevent emission-reduction targets for the transport sector or the overall net-zero goal.