13 september 2019
BREAKING: Dutch Supreme Court advised to uphold ground breaking climate case
In an opinion that was published today, the Dutch Supreme Court is advised to uphold the ground-breaking judgment in the Urgenda case. In 2015, the court in The Hague found the efforts of the Netherlands to lower its greenhouse gas emissions to be insufficient and ordered the Government to lower its emissions by 25% before 2020 compared to 1990. The Dutch Government appealed but also announced that it would implement the judgment. In 2018, the Court of Appeal upheld the judgment. The appeals court found that the failure to reduce emissions to a minimum level of 25% by 2020 would be a violation of human rights.
Government not on track to meet the 25% by 2020 target
Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the national bureau for statistics, this week reported that Dutch emissions in 2018 were 15% below the level in 1990, thus indicating a very significant gap with the 25% reduction that was ordered by the Court. Earlier this year, the Dutch Government presented a package of measures that would reduce emissions to only half the level necessary to comply with the 25% reduction order. Urgenda, the organisation that started the litigation in 2013, has repeatedly urged the Government to respect the judgment and to take additional measures swiftly.
Marjan Minnesma, director of Urgenda:
“We are humbled and extremely happy with this positive advice. The Government has known since 2015 that it has a legal obligation to significantly reduce Dutch emissions. It has had four years to fulfil that obligation. With this positive advice today, the Government is left with even fewer excuses not to take more action to lower its emissions. This spring, Urgenda, together with 700 other stakeholders, presented 40 measures that could close the gap between the current reduction and the 25% reduction required by 2020. If the Government keeps ignoring these calls, it will be in serious danger of flouting the rule of law by disregarding the orders of its own courts".
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Contacts:
For information on the case Urgenda v. The Netherlands
or + 31 6 15 66 5491
or + 31 6 4178 6101
Background information:
