24 June 2015, Reuters, Dutch government ordered to speed up greenhouse gas cuts: A district court ordered the Dutch government on Wednesday to cut greenhouse gas emissions faster than currently planned in a rare use of the legal system to curb global warming. A judge in The Hague said the state must “ensure that the Dutch emissions in the year 2020 will be at least 25 percent lower than those in 1990” as the Netherlands’ fair share to avert more heat waves, floods and rising sea levels.
Based on current government policy, the Netherlands will achieve a reduction of 17 percent at most in 2020, which is below a norm of 25-40 percent for developed countries, a summary of the ruling said. The decision was a victory for environmental group Urgenda Foundation, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of nearly 900 Dutch citizens. “The parties agree that the severity and scope of the climate problem make it necessary to take measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the summary said. Some saw the ruling as a landmark, if it ends up being binding. “This could be the first judicial warning shot to governments around the world,” said Bill Hare, of independent research group Climate Analytics. Read More here