Fellowship by Bhutan Parliament secretariat to Tasmania

Remedy ordered:

• Emissions target order: The State of the Netherlands is directed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% compared to 1990 levels by the end of 2020. The Court left the scope for policymaking with the State and did not specify precise measures to achieve the emissions target order.
• Court fees: The State is ordered to pay court fees, estimated at around EUR 3,000.

Compliance mechanism:

• Hard deadline: 31 December 2020.

• Standing authority: Civil Code – Book 3, Art. 305a of the Dutch Civil Code (3:305a BW) allows Urgenda to bring their case against the Dutch State on behalf of the residents of the State.
• Other: ECHR right to life (Art. 2) and right to respect for private and family life (Art. 8) oblige the State of the Netherlands to take adequate measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its territory.
• Other: The initial ruling on the case by The Hague District Court in 2015 was based on Article 162 of the Dutch Civil Code (liability for committing unlawful acts).
• Other: The need for emissions reductions of at least 25% by 2020 is based on common ground from the international scientific consensus of the IPCC AR4 scenarios for Annex I countries based on Art. 3 and 4 of UNFCCC.

Government response:

• Compliant: The Dutch government introduced various measures in 2019 to comply with the judgment of the Hague Court of Appeal in 2018 and the Supreme Court in 2020. No measures were taken following the initial judgment from the Hague District Court in 2015. The government complied with the ruling by meeting the greenhouse gas emissions target at the end of 2020. Yet, in subsequent years the 25% reduction compared to 1990 levels was no longer met, partly due to a renewed increase in emissions following Covid-19 lockdowns.

Legislative:

• Amendment: Act of 7 July 2021 amending the Prohibition of Coal in Electricity Production Act in relation to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Limited operations of coal-fired power stations to reduce emissions. The Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy explicitly links this measure to the ruling of the Court of Appeal in 2018.
• Amendment: Act of 18 December 2019 amending certain tax laws and some other laws (Climate Agreement Tax Measures Act), intended to reduce the waste disposal tax to improve waste treatment. The Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy explicitly links this measure to the ruling of the Court of Appeal in 2018.

Policy:

• Early closure of Nuon’s Hemweg coal-fired power plant on 01.01.2020 instead of in 2024.
• Additional CO2 balloon committed for a feed-in project for renewable-energy projects.
• Additional measures to reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions, increase the use of biofuels for inland navigation/shipping, promote sustainable mobility, incentivise industrial investments for CO2 capture and storage, stimulate energy-saving measures, enhance electricity grid capacity for more renewable energy, and prevent deforestation starting from 2020 onwards.