Dutch supreme court issues landmark ruling mandating climate action The nonprofit that brought the case called it “a groundbreaking decision that confirms that individual governments must do their fair share to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Advocates for climate action celebrated Friday after the Supreme Court of the Netherlands upheld a landmark ruling that found the Dutch government is obligated under international human rights law to more ambitiously reduce greenhouse gas emissions that drive global heating.

The case was initially launched in 2013 by the nonprofit Urgenda Foundation on behalf of hundreds of Dutch citizens and has been repeatedly appealed.

“Today, at a moment when people around the world are in need of real hope that governments will act with urgency to address the climate crisis, the Dutch Supreme Court has delivered a groundbreaking decision that confirms that individual governments must do their fair share to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” an Urgenda spokesperson said after the ruling.

The court ruled that the Dutch government must cut emissions by at least 25% compared with 1990 levels by the end of 2020 “because of the risk of a dangerous climate change that can also seriously affect the residents of the Netherlands in their right to life and well-being,” according to a translation from BuzzFeed News.

More at https://www.nationofchange.org/2019/12/21/a-win-for-the-planet-dutch-supreme-court-issues-landmark-ruling-mandating-climate-action/

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