Dutch cabinet files appeal in greenhouse gas emissions case

The Dutch government said Wednesday that it's cabinet would appeal a court ruling that it must intensify the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands.

The cabinet objects to the way in which the court assessed the government's policy and interfered in a political issue, especially related to a "duty of care", written in the court's verdict.

"The judge stated that international treaties between countries were directly applicable to residents of the Netherlands and set the future emissions reduction target agreed between countries as the current lower limit for a policy that fulfils the state's duty of care," the government explained in a statement.

"The cabinet will therefore file an appeal with a higher court regarding the way in which the district court defined the duty of care of the state with respect to its citizens," added the statement.

On June 24 this year, the Hague District Court ruled that the Dutch state had to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands by at least 25 percent in the year 2020, compared to 1990 levels. According to the court, the Dutch state currently doesn't do enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands.

Dutch sustainability foundation Urgenda had put a climate case together with around 900 Dutch citizens acting as co-plaintiffs. They argued the Dutch government had a duty to protect its citizens from the potential dangers of climate change.

According to the court's calculations, the Netherlands would only achieve an emissions reduction of 17 percent at most in 2020 based on the current policy, which is below the norm of 25 to 40 percent the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) deemed necessary for developed countries in climate science and international climate policy.

In October last year, EU leaders agreed on a domestic 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target of at least 40 percent compared to 1990, as proposed by the European Commission in January 2014. Endit