Around 60,000 Belgian citizens have decided to bring to justice the inaction of the authorities in the fight against climate change, in an unprecedented trial in Belgium that began today before a civil court in Brussels.
The move, launched in 2015 by the Klimatzaak Association (Climate Case, in Dutch), aims to be a reproduction of the Dutch government’s condemnation of non-compliance with its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. defined by the Paris Climate Agreement.
This agreement was reached at the end of 2015 and the objectives it had set have since been revised globally, which the applicants took into account.
In the proceedings before Belgium, the court is asked to verify that Belgium has failed to reduce its total emissions by “40% or at least 25%” by 2020 at the latest compared to 1990 levels.
The union also called on the court, under a fine, to take “necessary measures” to bring the country into line with European targets, ie a net emission reduction of “at least 55%” by 2030 in order to reach carbon neutrality in 2050.
Four governments will appear in court: the federal government and those of the country’s three regions (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels), which also have responsibilities in the field of environment and mobility.
The plaintiffs accuse them of not pursuing a climate policy “as prudent and diligent public authorities should normally have done”.
“Their negligence contributes to the accelerating development towards a dangerous climate warming,” added their lawyers, including the Dutchman Roger Cox, a leading figure in the controversy in the Netherlands.
They point to a “violation” of many international texts, including the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates that children can grow up in a healthy environment and “enjoy the best possible state of health”.
“Given the importance and urgency of the case, we demand a fine of one million euros for each month of delay in the execution of the decision,” they added.
According to Sarah Tak, a spokeswoman for Klimatzaak, some 58,000 Belgian citizens are involved in the process. And after the list of plaintiffs had to stop in 2020, more than 5,000 others voiced their support on the organization’s website.
The speeches, which started this morning, are expected to last until March 26.
The French-speaking court in Brussels, which is based on the occasion of the former NATO headquarters being remodeled into a huge courthouse, is then expected to issue its verdict after a meeting of judges.
In 2015, about 900 Dutch citizens united behind the Urgenda climate non-governmental organization secured their government’s conviction, a decision that was later upheld by several courts in the Netherlands.
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