Dutch government loses key climate case
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028985
New Scientist : The government of the Netherlands has lost a class action suit concerning climate change. The suit was brought by an environmental group called Urgenda, which claimed that the government’s plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions were not ambitious enough and that its citizens were put in danger as a result. The ruling was based on the recommendation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that by 2020 governments cut emissions by at least 25–40% compared with 1990 levels. The Netherlands had opted for just 14–17%. The court ordered the Dutch government to achieve at least 25% by 2020. That governments have a legal obligation to cut emissions and safeguard the climate was a key point in the proceedings.
