ECHR and Climate Change in the Netherlands’ Supreme Courte in the Urgenda Case
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Abstract
On the 20th December 2019, the Dutch Supreme Court held that on the basis of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) the Netherlands has a positive obligation to take measures for the prevention of climate change and that it has to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions with at least 25% by the end of 2020, compared to 1990 levels. This contribution focuses on the aspects of the reasoning of the Court which will make the judgment a landmark for future climate change litigation. After having reviewed the decision, this contribution will analyze how the interpretation of the ECHR as a living instrument permitted the Dutch Court to apply, for the first time, the ECHR to enhance climate change prevention.
Keywords
- climate change
- Human rights
- ECHR
- emissions target
- art. 34 ECHR
- causal link
- common ground
