If governments won鈥檛 do it on their own, can courts force their hand? That鈥檚 the hope of a Dutch environmental group called , which this week presented a class action suit over climate change.
Urgenda is suing the Dutch government on behalf of some 900 citizens, including children. The suit claims that the government鈥檚 action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is insufficient, and is therefore 鈥渒nowingly exposing its own citizens to dangerous situations鈥�.
The group is asking that the courts 鈥渄eclare that global warming of more than 2聽掳C will lead to a violation of fundamental human rights worldwide鈥�. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, governments must cut emissions to between 25 and 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 to have a 50 per cent chance of avoiding 2 掳C. Yet European Union states have signed up for 40 per cent cuts by 2030.
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鈥淚t would be groundbreaking for Urgenda to win,鈥� says James Arrandale of the London-based environmental law firm . He says it would lead to similar suits in other countries. A is already on the case.
A key point, says Arrandale, is to show that governments already have legal obligations to cut emissions, regardless of the outcome of the UN climate talks. To that end, a group of international legal experts on 30 March, which set out existing legal obligations on governments to safeguard the climate.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淐limate change on trial鈥�
