How human-rights court challenges are moving the needle on climate change

In the book "Climate Capitalism," journalist Akshat Rathi paints a picture of ways in which a green economy is possible, and in many cases already happening. This excerpt looks at the influence of court challenges in inducing change by private companies and governments.

In 2013 climate activists and the non-profit Urgenda sued the Dutch government for setting inadequate climate targets. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's fourth assessment report had found that rich countries needed to cut emissions by 25 per cent by 2020 relative to 1990 levels to ensure that the world does not warm beyond 2 degrees C relative to pre-industrial levels. The activists argued that the Dutch government’s climate promise must follow the science and the government had a duty to ensure that.