Dutch Court: Protection From Climate Change Is A Fundamental Right

Climate change is real and the Netherlands government has woken up to the threat in a big way. After the COP25 summit in Madrid, the Dutch court ruled that people have a fundamental right to be protected from climate change.

The highest court in the country ruled that the government must cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by the end of 2020. In the ruling, presiding judge Kees Streefkerk said,“The lives, well-being and living circumstances of many people around the world, including in the Netherlands, are being threatened by climate change."

The case was filed by Dutch environmental organisation Urgenda, and they termed the ruling as “groundbreaking.” The group first filed the case in 2013 on behalf of close to 900 citizens, with the aim of lowering emissions by 25%-40%. This was the first instance in the world where human rights law was used to lower carbon emissions.

In 2015, a district court ruled in favour of Urgenda. The Dutch government then appealed the case, but The Hague Court of Appeal upheld the district court’s decision in 2018. Following this verdict, the government appealed once again – this time with the Dutch Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ruling rejected the appeal, stating that people have a right to protection from the “catastrophic effects” of climate change. Judge Streefkerk ruled that Articles 2 and 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) (which encompasses the right to life and the right to respect for private and family life) brings climate change under the umbrella of human rights protections.

Since Friday's ruling was based in part on the ECHR, other European citizens can use the ruling as a precedent in future cases against their own governments. Urgenda says that this ruling has inspired similar cases in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Ireland, Germany, France, New Zealand, Norway, the U.K., Switzerland and the European Union.

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