16 November 2018 – Dutch government fights obligations to act on climate change: On Friday, the Dutch government announced its intention to appeal the recent judgment of the Hague Court of Appeal in Urgenda’s high-profile climate case. In April a group of social and environmental justice groups led by Friends of the Earth Netherlands began the process of suing the oil firm Shell, arguing that its business model threatens international climate goals and endangers human rights. The Act of 2 July 2019, setting up a framework for the development of policy aimed at the irreversible and phased reduction of Dutch greenhouse gas
All rights reserved. 20 December 2019. On 28 June 2019, the Dutch government presented the new climate agreement (Klimaatakkoord). Nine de Pater, a climate and energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Netherlands, said the supreme court decision set an important precedent for the Shell case because they used similar legal arguments.
As well as inspiring cases against other national governments, Urgenda’s success has encouraged campaigners to take up legal arms against corporations. A month earlier the company’s CEO said it had “no choice” but to invest in oil and claimed it was “entirely legitimate” to do so. No court outside the Netherlands is bound by this decision but the influence that this court has and the inspiration that it will give to others are really big.”. Court rules Dutch government has duty to protect citizens’ rights in face of climate change Isabella Kaminski in The Hague Fri 20 Dec 2019 08.08 EST Last modified on Fri 20 Dec 2019 23.15 EST
The original judgment in 2015 was seen as a landmark in the then nascent field of climate litigation, and inspired similar cases across the world, from Pakistan to New Zealand. Van Berkel said that if the government did not comply with the ruling, Urgenda could start separate legal proceedings against it. Available for everyone, funded by readers. He said the Netherlands had announced an “ambitious” set of measures this year to implement the judgment, although campaigners think it could go much further. The Dutch government had previously said it would comply with the substance of the ruling, but it repeatedly appealed over the legal basis for the decision. “It is a huge decision for all current climate litigation cases,” she said. According to the supreme court, individual nations have direct obligations under articles 2 and 8 of the European convention on human rights, covering the right to life and the right to private and family life. Attached the accompanying letter to the House of Representatives in English, German and French. The Netherlands passed its first piece of national climate legislation in 2018, it has published a more ambitious carbon plan for 2030, and it is closing its first coal plant next year.
Last modified on Sat 21 Dec 2019 04.15 GMT.
The ruling could force the government to shut down coal-fired power plants. The Netherlands’ supreme court has upheld a ruling ordering the country’s government to do much more to cut carbon emissions, after a six-year fight for climate justice. Dutch system of separation of powers (Trias Politica) are now more intensively involved than in 2015. Dutch Parliament continued working towards the introduction of a Climate Act. A derogation for nitrogen from livestock has ... economy into its climate action plans.
The non-profit Urgenda Foundation, which brought the case, welcomed the “groundbreaking” judgment.
The court ruled that the government had explicit duties to protect its citizens’ human rights in the face of climate change and must reduce emissions by at least 25% compared with 1990 levels by the end of 2020. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies.
In ‘Strongest’ Climate Ruling Yet, Dutch Court Orders Leaders to Take Action A power station in Amsterdam. {COM(2019) 149 final} - {SWD(2019) 111 final} - {SWD(2019) 112 final} - ... concern despite the efforts made by the Dutch government through the national action programme for nitrates. Download Version Download 3030 File Size 1.7 MB File Count 1 Create Date December 23, 2019 Last Updated December 23, 2019 The Energy Act, 2019 Related Topics ... under pressure to act over a nitrogen oxide pollution crisis, Dutch ministers announced a cut in the daytime speed limit to 100km/h (62mph).
It contains a set of measures drawn up in consultation with various parties across Dutch society in the joint combat against climate change. David Boyd, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, said it was “the most important climate change court decision in the world so far, confirming that human rights are jeopardised by the climate emergency and that wealthy nations are legally obligated to achieve rapid and substantial emission reductions.”.
In a formal reply in November, Shell denied it was liable. Court rules Dutch government has duty to protect citizens’ rights in face of climate change, Fri 20 Dec 2019 13.08 GMT Dennis van Berkel, a member of the legal counsel for Urgenda, said: “The enormous importance of this case is not just that the Netherlands is obliged to act but that these principles are universal. The English translation of the National Climate Agreement of the Netherlands, presented to the House of Representatives on the 28th of June, 2019. The latest national statistics show the Netherlands is very unlikely to meet the 2020 emissions target. The Dutch climate minister, Eric Wiebes, said the government had “taken note” of decision and would issue a full response in January.