Dutch leaders ordered to cut emissions

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — In a sweeping victory for environmental activists that could have global repercussions, a Dutch court ordered its government on Wednesday to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 percent by 2020 to help fight global warming.

The ruling by The Hague District Court could lay the foundations for similar cases around the world, said the director of Urgenda, the organization that took the government to court on behalf of 900 Dutch citizens.

Climate activists in the packed courtroom clapped and cheered as Presiding Judge Hans Hofhuis read the ruling, which Greenpeace called “a game-changer in the fight against climate change.”

The ruling came in the same month that Pope Francis released a massive encyclical on the environment urging nations to quickly overhaul their economies to cut emissions and save the Earth. Neighboring France will also host a key U.N. conference later this year in Paris where it’s hoped that a worldwide accord to fight global warming will be signed.

The Dutch 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. Large swaths of the Netherlands are below sea level and vulnerable to rising sea levels blamed on 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, the director of Urgenda.

The Dutch government, which can appeal, said it was studying the ruling.

Environment Minister Wilma Mansveld said the government and Urgenda “share the same goal. We just hold different opinions regarding the manner in which to attain this goal.”

Mansveld said the Dutch are working toward European Union greenhouse targets — cutting emissions by at least 20 percent by 2020, compared with benchmark 1990 levels.