Dutch court orders carbon emissions cuts to protect citizens
Source: AP-Excite
By MIKE CORDER
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — In a sweeping victory for Dutch environmental activists that could have global repercussions, a court ordered the government Wednesday to cut the country's greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 percent by 2020.
The ruling by The Hague District Court could lay the foundations for similar cases around the world, said the director of the organization that took the government to court on behalf of 900 Dutch citizens.
The plaintiffs argued — and the court agreed — that the government has a legal obligation to protect its people against looming dangers, including the effects of climate change on this low-lying country, much of which is below sea level and vulnerable to rising sea levels caused by global warming.
"This is a great victory — the judge said exactly what we wanted and had the courage and wisdom to say to the government 'you have a duty of care toward your citizens,'" said Marjan Minnesma, director of Urgenda, the group that filed the case.
FULL story at link.
Urgenda Foundation lawyer Koos van der Berg, left, is congratulated after a Dutch court ordered the government to cut the country's greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 percent by 2020 in a groundbreaking climate case that activists hope will set a worldwide precedent in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 24, 2015. The Hague District Court made the ruling Wednesday in a case brought by a sustainability organization on behalf of some 900 citizens, claiming that the the government has a duty of care to protect its citizens against looming dangers. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150624/eu--netherlands-climate_case-1bf9ebeda7.html
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Thanks for posting this, Omaha Steve. 
