Belgian And French Courts Ruled On New Climate Lawsuits Against Governments

• Published date: 30 July 2021
• Subject Matter: Environment, Government, Public Sector, Government Contracts, Procurement & PPP, Climate Change
• Law Firm: Jones Day
• Author: Mr Karim Tarantino and Aster Gentils

On May 26, 2021, the Hague District Court ordered, in a groundbreaking decision, Royal Dutch Shell Plc to ensure that the aggregate annual volume of all carbon dioxide emissions of the Shell group, its suppliers, and customers is reduced by at least net 45% by the end of 2030, relative to 2019 levels. Since then, climate litigation has once again made headlines in Europe with two new decisions issued, this time against the Belgian and French governments regarding their commitments in the fight against climate change.

On June 17, 2021, the Brussels Court of First Instance ruled in favor of the nongovernmental organization ("NGO") Klimaatzaak/L'Affaire Climat and 58,000 citizens, condemning the Belgian federal and regional governments for negligent climate policy. The judgment is regarded as groundbreaking in several ways. In this case, the Brussels court found that the Belgian authorities failed to implement thorough climate governance, thus breaching their duty of care. By doing so, the court also found that the authorities violated the right to life and to respect for private and family life enshrined in articles 2 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In a reasoning comparable to the Dutch Urgenda judgment, the Brussels court emphasized that the global dimension of climate change does not exempt Belgium from its obligations under the aforementioned fundamental rights. However, in contrast to the Urgenda judgment, the court refused to issue an injunction to meet stricter targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on the basis of the principle of the separation of powers, thus depriving the decision of immediate practical effect. The NGO already announced its intention to appeal the judgment before the Brussels Court of Appeal to impose more specific obligations on the Belgian governments and possibly to...