A man who lost his Norfolk home to the sea will appear in court this summer where he is suing the government for failing to protect him from climate change
Kevin Jordan claims he has been made a ‘climate refugee’ after losing his property at Hemsby to coastal erosion.
He is one of two men to have filed a joint legal challenge accusing the state of breaching their human rights and of not doing enough to protect them.
A judge at the High Court has now agreed to hear the case and a two-day session has been scheduled for June.
Mr Jordan said his case had been boosted this week by a European court ruling, which found the Swiss government had violated the human rights of a group of around 2,500 elderly women by not acting on climate change.
“We believe the High Court here will have to take that ruling into account,” Mr Jordan added.
His case is one of several launched by environmental activists in recent years to put pressure on politicians over their response to climate change.
It has echoes of an ongoing legal challenge by former Green councillor Dr Andrew Boswell to halt three improvement schemes on the A47 in Norfolk, on environmental grounds.
Dr Boswell’s case is funded by supportive members of the public while Mr Jordan’s is being backed by Friends of the Earth. In both cases, the government’s side is funded by the taxpayer.
Politicians have voiced concern over the trend, arguing that decisions on the climate response should be for elected representatives rather than judges.