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van Dijk, Chris --- "Civil Liability for Global Warming in the Netherlands" [2011] ELECD 267; in Faure, Michael; Peeters, Marjan (eds), "Climate Change Liability" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Climate Change Liability

Editor(s): Faure, Michael; Peeters, Marjan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849802864

Section: Chapter 9

Section Title: Civil Liability for Global Warming in the Netherlands

Author(s): van Dijk, Chris

Number of pages: 21

Extract:

9. Civil liability for global warming in
the Netherlands
Chris van Dijk

1. INTRODUCTION

The climate on earth is determined to a great extent by the warmth of the
sun. Natural gases such as CO2, N2O, CH4, O3 and CFCs together form a
kind of blanket, which prevents a large part of this warmth received from
flowing back into space. Without this natural effect, the earth would be
about 34 degrees Celsius colder than it is now. More greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere means an increase of the temperature on earth.
In the past century, the temperature on earth has increased by an
average of 0.76 degrees Celsius. It is becoming ever clearer that this is
caused, at least to a considerable extent, by human emission of greenhouse
gases resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels, agriculture, stock
breeding and land use. Respected institutions such as the independent
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are of the view that
if policies are not changed, disaster is looming on the horizon. The IPCC
is ever more insistent on this in its reports, which are published every few
years.1 In its report of February 20072 it concluded that, depending on
the measures to be taken, the earth will become 1.1 to 6.4 degrees warmer
and the sea level will rise 18 to 59 cm in the coming century. The scenarios
predicted are extremely threatening.3 For example, the availability of
water in most territories at average latitudes and ...