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ARTICLE · 21 FEBRUARY 2020

What About Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Are We Going Far Enough?

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Recently, two cases State of Netherlands v Urgenda (December 20, 2019) and Juliana v. United States highlight the contradictory role of the courts as it relates to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

CanadaEnvironment
Paula Lombardi
Paula Lombardi
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Recently, two cases State of Netherlands v Urgenda (December 20, 2019) and Juliana v. United States (January 17, 2020) highlight the contradictory role of the courts as it relates to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The Urgenda decision, issued by the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, upheld lower court decisions in 2015 and 2018 that required the national government to "reduce greenhouse gases by the end of 2020 by at least 25% compared to 1990." 

On June 24, 2015, The Hague District Court rendered a historical judgment. The Court of The Hague found the Dutch government owed a tort duty of care to its citizens, requiring the government to rein in carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2020. This ruling marked the first climate change lawsuit in which a domestic court found that its national government had a duty of care to citizens, requiring the state to reduce carbon emissions. 

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