Urgenda: Suing a Government Into Climate Action

Urgenda Foundation is a Dutch sustainability organisation, established in 2008 near Rotterdam, that works to accelerate the Netherlands' transition to a sustainable society. In 2013 it sued the Dutch state on behalf of nearly 900 citizens, arguing its climate targets were dangerously weak, and in 2015 a court agreed, ordering the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% from 1990 levels by 2020. The ruling was the first of its kind worldwide and was upheld by the Dutch Supreme Court in December 2019, inspiring similar climate lawsuits elsewhere.