Dutch appeals court upholds ruling ordering govt to cut greenhouse gas emissions

An appeals court in the Netherlands has upheld a landmark ruling that ordered the Dutch government to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 percent by 2020 from benchmark 1990 levels. “More ambitious measures have to be taken in the short term to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to protect the life and family life of citizens in the Netherlands,” the court said on Tuesday. The original June 2015 ruling came in a case brought by the environmental group Urgenda on behalf of 900 Dutch citizens, AP reported. Similar cases are now underway in several countries around the world.