Following Dutch Footsteps, Activists to Sue Aussie Government on Climate
(COMMON DREAMS) Deirdre Fulton — Signaling the global implications of last week’s historic Dutch court ruling—the first in the world to use human rights as a legal basis to protect citizens against greenhouse gas emissions and global warming—environmentalists in Australia are reportedly preparing to launch a similar legal challenge against Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s government for its notorious inaction on climate change.
In response to a lawsuit filed by the Amsterdam-based environmental nonprofit Urgenda Foundation along with over 800 Dutch citizens, the Hague District Court ruled last Wednesday that the government has a legal duty to reduce carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2020. It marked the first time a court has determined the appropriate emissions-reduction target for a state, based on the duty of care owed to its people.