A DUTCH appeals court erupted into cheers today as it upheld a 2015 ruling ordering the government to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 per cent by 2020.

Hague Appeals Court Presiding Judge Marie-Anne Tan-de Sonnaville rejected the government’s appeal, reaffirming the country’s legal obligations to protect citizens against dangerous climate change.

“Considering the great dangers that are likely to occur, more ambitious measures have to be taken in the short term to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to protect the life and family life of citizens in the Netherlands,” the court said.