Universities have been participating in long-term national energy efficiency agreements (MJA-3) for some time. They have already reduced their attributable primary fossil energy consumption during this period by increasing process and chain efficiency as well as generating and purchasing sustainable energy. In the coming decades, universities want to significantly step up their efforts to achieve a CO2-neutral campus by 2050 at the latest. The following principles apply to the strategy to achieve this goal: Under the Paris Climate Agreement, nearly 200 countries have agreed to keep global temperatures “well below” 2°C above pre-industrial levels. In December 2019, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands ordered the Dutch government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by the end of 2020 compared to 1990 levels in order to have its fair share in the fight against climate change. The court ruled that the Dutch government represents an “unacceptable danger” to citizens, for whom it has a duty of care by continuing to pollute. “This is truly great news and a huge victory for Earth, our children and all of us,” FoE DIRECTOR Donald Pols said in a statement. “The judge leaves no doubt about it: Shell is causing dangerous climate change and must now stop it quickly.” To minimize the effects of climate change, the government must take action. Dutch climate policy focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions so that the climate does not change so quickly and radically and the increase in temperature is limited. Along with reducing greenhouse gases, the Government is taking steps to adapt to the effects of climate change. For example, through measures to prevent flooding and protect the fresh water supply, strengthen and dune and cope with heat stress in cities by planting more vegetation.
Shell argues that climate policy should be set by governments, not corporations, and that an energy company`s commitment to reducing oil and gas will have little impact as long as others continue to produce fossil fuels. “Big polluters and fossil fuel executives should be pretty nervous about looking at this,” Shaw said. “It would be great to see this unleash a wave of climate lawsuits against companies.” But this decision alone will be a warning to companies around the world that fighting climate change could mean the end of anything resembling “business as usual.” On 28 June 2019, the Dutch government presented the new climate agreement (Klimaatakkoord). It contains a series of measures developed in consultation with various parties in Dutch society as part of the common fight against climate change. The climate agreement aims to reduce CO2 emissions in the Netherlands by setting a national target of reducing it by 49% by 2030 compared to 1990. In December 2015, the UN hosted a climate summit in Paris: the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21). The Netherlands was one of the countries that signed the United Nations Climate Agreement, also known as the Paris Agreement. The goal of the agreement is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and not to target more than 1.5 degrees. On 21 April 2016, the Dutch Minister for the Environment signed the climate agreement on behalf of the 28 Member States of the European Union. The agreement has entered into force and the obligations on which it is based must be fulfilled from 2020. Greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands are to be reduced by 25% (compared to 1990) by the end of 2020. This was decided in 2015 by the District Court of The Hague in the case of the Urgenda Foundation against the Dutch State.
The Hague Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court upheld the Court`s decision in 2018 and 2019. The Supreme Court ruled that the Court of Appeal had been admitted and was able to rule that the Dutch state is required to achieve the 25% reduction by the end of 2020, as there is a risk of climate change, which could also have a serious impact on the rights to life and well-being of residents of the Netherlands. The Government will continue to make every effort to achieve this goal. The National Climate Agreement, concluded in June 2019, contains agreements with sectors on what they will do to achieve climate goals. The participating sectors are electricity, industry, the built environment, transport and transport, and agriculture. The agreement is based on the principle that reducing carbon emissions must be achievable and affordable for all. The government is therefore seeking a cost-effective transition that minimizes the financial impact on budgets and implements measures to equitably distribute the financial burden between citizens and businesses. The additional annual costs for the Netherlands related to the climate agreement will amount to less than 0.5% of GDP in 2030. Dutch society should be able to afford this transition. Another key element of the agreement is that the Netherlands makes the most of the time available by 2050. Gradual steps are being taken to ensure that nothing needs to be rushed. In addition, the government will opt for the most cost-effective and sustainable approach.
To combat climate change, the Dutch government wants to reduce the Netherlands` greenhouse gas emissions by 49% by 2030 compared to 1990 and by 95% by 2050. These objectives are set out in the Climate Act of 28. May 2019. The Climate Plan, the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) and the National Climate Agreement contain policies and measures to achieve these climate goals. Water. From. Joy. 🚨WE WON! 🚨The Dutch court has just ruled that Shell must reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 (compared to 2019). The fight against climate change is huge, but we know we can win this cause, beat fossil fuel companies and build a better world. ❤️ #StopShell pic.twitter.com/MCGHyfI9Gf “It is impossible to achieve the climate goals of the Paris Agreement without regulating multinationals,” Donald Pols, director general of Friends of the Earth Netherlands, told Climate Home News. Dutch climate policy is mainly aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
International cooperation is the best way to combat greenhouse gas emissions and halt global warming. The Netherlands has committed to several international agreements to combat climate change, such as the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the first-ever climate treaty), the Kyoto Protocol concluded in 1997 and the United Nations Climate Agreement concluded in Paris in 2015. These agreements form the framework for Dutch climate policy. Suddenly, it is no longer enough for companies to comply with the emissions law – in an exceptional case like this, they also have to comply with global climate policy. This is the first time a company has been required by law to align its policies with the Paris Climate Agreement, according to Friends of the Earth (FoE). Dutch climate policy is based on national and international research. Human activities are the main cause of the greenhouse effect, which accelerates climate change. The Earth`s temperature is rising because people are burning more fossil fuels, cutting down more forests, and using more land for grain and livestock. Historically, there are also a number of natural causes for rising temperatures: continental drift, ocean currents, the effects of comets and meteorites, and volcanic eruptions. The victory of dutch environmental group Urgenda was seen as an important step for climate justice. On Wednesday, Chevron investors voted in favor of a proposal to cut customers` emissions, while Exxon shareholders elected two climate activists to the board after months of wrangling over the direction of business. In the Urgenda case, the Dutch state was instructed by the District Court of The Hague to take further measures to reduce CO2 emissions in the Netherlands and ensure that emission levels in 2020 are at least 25% lower than in 1990.
In October 2018, this decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal in The Hague. The Supreme Court of the Netherlands is currently considering the case. The Dutch government had failed to stay the course in order to meet the 2020 reduction targets for the December 2015 Paris Agreement. With this climate agreement, the Dutch government seems determined to meet its climate targets for 2030. So far, the climate agreement has only been signed by coalition partners and could be subject to change. Activists say Shell is violating its international climate commitments and threatening the lives of these citizens by continuing to invest billions of dollars each year in fossil fuel production. The activists built their case on a precedent set by the “Urgenda case,” a major climate lawsuit that was brought to the top of the Dutch justice system last year. .