Distributive Choices in Urgenda and EU Climate Law
Martha Roggenkamp and Catherine Banet (eds.) European Energy Law Report XI, Intersentia, 2017
30 Pages Posted: 4 Nov 2017 Last revised: 9 Nov 2017
Date Written: June 2, 2017
Abstract
In a much-publicised judgment, The Hague District Court agreed with a group of private petitioners that the Dutch government should take more action on climate change. The judgment is currently being appealed, and has received criticism from several quarters. Some scholars question the compatibility of the decision with EU law. This chapter addresses this criticism, and in the process, explains that this issue points to the core of the case: the distribution of responsibility for protecting the citizen from climate harm. With regard to EU law, it argues that the decision is in compliance with primary law, and it is premature to arrive at a conclusive judgment on compliance with secondary law on climate change.
Keywords: Climate Change, Climate Law, Climate Regulation, European Union, European Law, Federalism, Urgenda, Ets
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