'A court in The Hague has upheld a historic legal order on the Dutch government to accelerate carbon emissions cuts, a day after the world’s climate scientists warned that time was running out to avoid dangerous warming.
Appeal court judges ruled that the severity and scope of the climate crisis demanded greenhouse gas reductions of at least 25% by 2020 – measured against 1990 levels – higher than the 17% drop planned by Mark Rutte’s liberal administration.
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“Climate change is a grave danger,” ruled Judge Tan de Sonnaville. “Any postponement of emissions reductions exacerbates the risks of climate change. The Dutch government cannot hide behind other countries’ emissions. It has an independent duty to reduce emissions from its own territory.”
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Dennis van Berkel, the legal counsel for Urgenda, which brought the case, told the Guardian that the ruling “has consequences for all governments. They should look at this closely and realise that they are not acting in the interests of their own people. By delaying [climate] actions and not increasing them to the highest possible level – they are violating the rights of their people.” '
- Arthur Neslen,
Dutch appeals court upholds landmark climate change ruling, October 9, 2018
ContextThe Elders demand urgent action to meet 1.5 degrees target and avert climate disaster'..to stop burning fossil fuels by the middle of this century .. planting trees, protecting forests..''A New Scientist review in 2017 concluded that “log-burning stoves are harming our health and speeding up global warming”.''..Australia could have 100 per cent renewable electricity by the early 2030s..'