Dutch court orders government to cut emissions by 25%

A court in the Netherlands has ordered the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 per cent by 2020 in a landmark case that could set a global precedent on environmental policy.

The Hague District Court announced the ruling on Wednesday in a ground-breaking case brought by a sustainability organisation on behalf of 900 citizens claiming that the government has a duty of care to protect the population against the effects of climate change.

The lawsuit, filed by the Urgenda Foundation, is the first case in Europe in which citizens are bringing action against a state for its potentially harmful inaction.

The case is also the first in the world in which human rights are being used as a legal basis to protect citizens against climate change.

The Urgenda Climate Case was initiated in November 2012 with a letter to the Dutch government requesting action and a call for ‘crowd pleading’ in which Dutch citizens could officially support the case as co-plaintiffs.

A year later, on 20 November 2013, Urgenda and 900 co-plaintiffs filed the case against the Dutch government and on Tuesday the district court in The Hague (pictured) heard the arguments of the parties.

The case has also been endorsed by the Oslo Principles on Global Climate Change Obligations that were launched by an international group of eminent jurists, including High Court judges, law professors and advocates from countries such as Brazil, China, India, the US and the Netherlands in March.

The Oslo Principles hold that regardless of the existence of international agreements, governments already have legal obligations to actively avoid the harmful effects of climate change, based on existing international human rights law, environmental law and tort law.

The Oslo group is also supporting initiatives in other countries to involve the courts in their efforts to combat climate change.

More than 200 of the plaintiffs have present at hearings for the case including Joos Ockels, architect Thomas Rau, WakaWaka entrepreneur Maurits Groen, DJ Gregor Salto, and representatives of the Young Sustainable top 100.

The case is also supported by professors Frans Stokman, Wim Hafkamp, and Pier Vellinga, entrepreneurs including sustainability pioneer Ruud Koornstra, weatherman Reinier van den Berg, and by professional adventurer and climate journalist Bernice Notenboom.