The Dutch Climate Case Inspiring the World
The Netherlands, with its iconic wind farms, its top class cycling facilities and its fairy tale tulip fields, is often considered a leading country on environmental policies. If on the one hand this is true, on the climate front The Netherlands is lagging behind. A Dutch citizen generates five times more GHG emissions than an Indian citizen. The share of renewable energy sources in the country reached 14,6% in 2022, a relatively modest result.
The Netherlands accounts for 5.2% of total EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and has reduced its emissions at a slower pace than the EU average since 2005.
At the same time, in the country, one third of the land lies below the sea level and it is highly exposed to floods. The situation is worsening as an effect of the increase of extreme events.
Marjan Minnesma, the founder and director of the Urgenda Foundation, frustrated by the government inaction, sued the Dutch state for its tepid record on greenhouse-gas emissions. Inspired by Roger Cox’s book “Revolution Justified”, she took the State to court, arguing that with its modest climate commitment, it was putting at risk the lives of Dutch citizens. Using data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Urgenda’s lawyers argued the urgency of climate change and that the Dutch government should ramp up its climate ambitions. Urgenda won an electrifying court order in December 2019 directing the government to reduce the country’s emissions by at least 25% by 2020, compared to 1990 levels.
Although initially the case had little chance of succeeding, the engagement of citizens made a huge difference.
The requests of some 886 citizens, through a pioneer process of crowd pleading and citizen science, played a key role in winning over the judges to the soundness and urgency of the case.
This was a landmark case, relying on human rights arguments to bring cases against states and corporations that hold specific climate responsibilities. The victory has inspired activists in Belgium, France, Ireland, Germany, Italy and Norway. Marjan Minnesma won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2022.
Climate Hero