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court in Holland has ordered Dutch government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least quarter by 2020. Three judges said the decision was, "to ensure that the Dutch emissions in year 2020 will be at least 25 per cent lower than those in 1990." Environmentalists hope others around world will follow Holland's lead in global drive to reduce emissions. Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Dutch member of European Parliament, echoed this sentiment, saying: "This historic ruling will have far reaching consequences in Netherlands, Europe and the rest of the world." Bill Hare of Climate Analytics agreed. He said: "This could be first judicial warning shot to governments around the world."

judges' ruling came after 900 Dutch citizens took legal action against Dutch government to get it to comply with international regulations. Holland was far behind many other countries in reducing carbon emissions. It was on target for 14 to 17 per cent reduction by 2020. Dutch court decided this was unacceptable for country as developed and progressive as Holland. It also said that hitting target of just 17 per cent would cause huge embarrassment for Dutch. The Dutch government must now accelerate existing plans to close coal plants, increase use of windmills, solar energy and other renewables, and drastically cut amount of gas it takes out of ground.