On June 24, 2015, the Hague District Court ruled that the government of the Netherlands must reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2020.

The Urgenda Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on preventing climate change, brought suit against the Netherlands on its own behalf and on behalf of almost 900 individuals, arguing that the Dutch government has a legal duty to protect its citizens from climate change. In its suit, Urgenda claimed that the government's climate policy was inadequate and breached its duty of care to Urgenda, the other plaintiffs, and Dutch society generally.

In addition, Urgenda argued that, considering the Netherland's high greenhouse gas emissions, the country was unlawfully exposing the international community to the risk of climate change and attendant damage to human health and the environment. On these grounds, Urgenda sought a declaratory judgment that (i) greenhouses gases, to which the Netherlands is one of the largest contributors in the world, are causing damaging temperature increases that threaten humans and the environment; and (ii) the government of the Netherlands is liable for the country's unlawful volume of emissions if it does not reduce national annual greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2020 or, alternatively, by 40 percent by 2030. Urgenda also asked the court to order the government of the Netherlands to make these reductions.

In response, the Netherlands first argued that Urgenda did not have standing because it was bringing the action in the name of current and future generations of individuals in other countries and because the country had not taken any unlawful actions toward Urgenda. The Netherlands agreed that global temperature rise must be constrained but argued that (i) its current and future climate policies, including international agreements and European Union standards and targets, were aimed at meeting this objective; (ii) it had no legal obligation to take the specific measures requested by Urgenda; (iii) Urgenda's claims were inimical to the Netherlands' discretionary power; and (iv) Urgenda's claims interfered with the Netherlands' system of separation of powers and its international negotiating position.

The court agreed with Urgenda. It found that Urgenda had standing to bring the action on its own behalf because, under Dutch law, an environmental organization has standing to bring a claim to protect the environment. The court, however, concluded that it had insufficient detail regarding the individual plaintiffs and left the question of their standing unanswered. Substantively, the court ruled that (i) the government of the Netherlands has a duty of care to mitigate the impact of climate change; (ii) the Netherlands target of 14 to 17 percent reduction by 2020 is below the standard that has been scientifically accepted for harm reduction and would cause harm to humans and the environment, and that such harm would be attributable to the Netherlands; and (iii) reductions of 25 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2020 are within the Netherlands' discretionary authority and would not be burdensome. Accordingly, the court ordered the government to reduce the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2020.

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