State of the Netherlands v Urgenda Foundation · Case 19/00135
Supreme Court of the Netherlands · 20 December 2019
The Urgenda Foundation asked a Dutch civil court to require the state to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The state argued that climate change was global and that elected institutions should choose a response. The litigation reached the Supreme Court with a specific order at stake: a reduction of at least 25 per cent from 1990 levels by the end of 2020.
What the state still had to decide
The Supreme Court upheld the order. Drawing on Articles 2 and 8 of the Convention, the judges examined the danger to people in the Netherlands and the state’s duty to do its part to protect them. The fact that other countries also contributed did not remove the Netherlands’ responsibility. The choice of measures to meet the target remained with the state.
Who brought the claim matters
Urgenda used a Dutch collective-action procedure. The remedy was an order directed at the state, rather than compensation to individual residents. The 2020 target belonged to this case and its scientific and policy record. A person concerned about a local environmental hazard faces different questions. Identify the authority with responsibility, what it knew about the danger and the practical measure being sought.
Read the judgment in English translation · Read the Dutch Supreme Court’s summary
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