Dutch court forces government to cut emissions
The Dutch government announced €3bn for new climate
initiatives to comply with a landmark court ruling - which forces the
government to reduce its greenhouse gas emission by 25 percent by the end of
2020
By ELENA
SÁNCHEZ NICOLÁS
BRUSSELS,
TODAY, 07:02 / 28-4-2020
The Dutch
government has announced a new package of measures to lower the country's
greenhouse gas emissions - in order to comply with a court ruling.
In 2013,
the non-profit Dutch environmental foundation Urgenda, on behalf of around 900
citizens, sued the state for the government's failure to take responsibility
for the Netherlands' contribution to the climate crisis.
After a
seven-year legal battle, the Supreme Court in the Netherlands ruled in December
that current climate Dutch policies were inadequate - forcing the government to
reduce national emissions by at least 25 percent (compared to 1990) by the end
of 2020.
The
'Urgenda case' came to the world's attention and set a precedent in climate
legal action with a landmark decision that was considered "an immense
victory for climate justice".
The United
Nations special rapporteur on human rights and the environment David Boyd said
that "this is the most important climate change court decision in the
world so far, confirming that human rights are jeopardised by the climate
emergency and that wealthy nations are legally obligated to achieve rapid and
substantial emission reductions".
To comply
with the verdict, the Dutch government announced last week the adoption of 30
measures out of Urgenda's '54 climate solutions' - which were developed in collaboration
with 800 organizations and civil society groups.
"We
expect that some additional measures will be necessary for the next year, but
for the moment it is a promising package," Urgenda told EUobserver.
The crucial
change is the 75 percent reduction in the capacity of the country's three
coal-fired power station, which are all due to close by 2030.
Additionally,
the government proposes to lower the maximum speed on highways during daytime
hours and set up several subsidy schemes for renewable energy and energy
efficiency measures.
For
example, people who hand in old fridges and freezers could be eligible for a
€35 discount to buy a new appliance.
In total,
the government is expected to invest more than €3bn, including €2bn for mostly
roof-top solar projects, €300m for household energy-saving measures such as
double glazing, €360m to compensate farmers for livestock reductions, and €30m
for LED lighting.
The package
of proposals, which was presented to parliament on Friday (24 April), was
described as "a promising start" by climate litigation activists.
"The
cabinet is not only opting for the cheapest option (completely or partly
closing coal-fired power stations), but also for measures that ensure public
support, lower energy bills, cleaner air and more biodiversity," Urgenda
said in a statement.
The Dutch
minister for economic affairs and climate policy, Erik Wiebes, said that the
new measures are expected to provide an economic impulse in the short and
medium-term, particularly in those sectors that are not active due to the
coronavirus outbreak.
"[But]
if a measure appears to be having a negative effect on jobs, the cabinet will
do its best to minimise the consequences as much as possible," Wiebes also
warned.
The
government said that a number of these measures would help to reduce nitrogen
pollution, which has also been subjected to other legal actions.
Although in
global terms the Dutch are not major polluters, per capita the Netherlands has
the fourth-highest CO2 emissions in the EU, according to the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) - after Luxembourg, Estonia and
the Czech Republic.
Although
ongoing lockdowns and coronavirus measures have sharply decreased emissions
across Europe, this reduction is expected to have little impact in the long
term.
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