General News Dutch Court rules that government must act on climate change

Aussie792 · Jun 25, 2015

The Guardian said:

In the first successful case of its kind, a judge in the Hague has ruled that the Dutch government’s stance on climate change is illegal and has ordered them to take action to cut greenhouse gas emissions by a hefty 25% within five years.

Lawyers say the precedent it sets could trigger similar cases all around the world. Already, in Belgium, 8, 000 citizens are preparing for a similar court case, with others pointing to another possible lawsuit in Norway. Although the case is only binding within the Netherlands, lawyers say that it will inspire lawyers and judges considering similar cases in many other countries.

“It is remarkable,” said James Thornton, chief executive of environmental law organisation ClientEarth. “A major sophisticated European court has broken through a political and psychological threshold. For the first time a court has ordered the government to protect its citizens from climate change.”

Thorton says that by using the principles of tort law, the case “returns to the fundamental power of the court to prevent harm – it is of great relevance to courts in other countries – every country in the world has tort law.” Thornton says that many others are currently considering climate litigation cases, including ClientEarth themselves.
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Hague climate change judgement could inspire a global civil movement | Environment | The Guardian

Hopefully, this will encourage more legal enforcement of climate action. As the article says, it's our long-term existence at stake, a solution to which courts might be able to push forward with clearer minds and less interference from companies and, in some areas, populist politicians.

Cubxu · Jun 25, 2015

I think that even small steps in the right direction are at least the signs of progress. It's pretty good to hear that change is happening so that the Earth is being protected.

Quem · Jun 25, 2015

I find it shocking that I read this via the Guardian and El Mundo. Apparently, Dutch news website don't see this as something of much importance, as there was (almost*) no coverage of it in the media.

It's an amazing step forwards and I hope other nations will follow. :icon_bigg Next for the Netherlands would be to cut its amount of particulate matter.. The Netherlands is quite a disgrace for Europe with its high percentage of particulates in the air.

* I doubt there is no coverage, but I couldn't find it on the news websites I follow.

Linthras · Jun 25, 2015

Quem said: ↑

I find it shocking that I read this via the Guardian and El Mundo. Apparently, Dutch news website don't see this as something of much importance, as there was (almost*) no coverage of it in the media.

It's an amazing step forwards and I hope other nations will follow. :icon_bigg Next for the Netherlands would be to cut its amount of particulate matter.. The Netherlands is quite a disgrace for Europe with its high percentage of particulates in the air.

* I doubt there is no coverage, but I couldn't find it on the news websites I follow.
Click to expand...

Yea, really odd, I also found out about this via the Guardian.

General News Dutch Court rules that government must act on climate change

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