Belgian Citizen Coalition Pursuing Legal Case Against Government Over Inaction On Climate Change

As a follow-up to our previous coverage on a recent lawsuit filed against the government of the Netherlands by a coalition of ~600 citizens — on account of that government’s failure to take any substantial action with regard to addressing climate change — a similar case is also in the process of coming together in the neighboring country of Belgium.

As it stands, there are currently already >10,000 citizens in Belgium that have signed up to support the case — with the intention being to force the government there to take more substantive action within the near future, rather than continue along the path that it’s been on (not doing much of anything other than symbolic gestures).

Here’s the exact words coming via a recent press release from Klimaatzaak (composed of “concerned citizens” in the fields of the media, business, science, and art):

Because we do not want to organize a farewell party for humanity. Because we want to safeguard the future of our children, our environment and our economy. Because our society can not continue on its current path, Klimaatzaak (Climate Case), a recently established non-profit group, has published an open letter and sent a notice to the Belgian authorities setting out its views. It is also preparing a court case to hold the government to account on its climate action commitments.

Serge de Gheldere stated: ”We are doing this because we love our country, the Belgians and our children. Consider it as a lawsuit of love. However we think that in a democratic country, when science confirms that the consequence of political choices leads to the destruction of ourselves and our environment, we need to change course. We need to never reach that point.”

Tom Lenaerts stated: “For me this isn’t a choice but an obligation towards my children.“

I’m not going to state that these sorts of actions are ineffective, but I do question exactly how effective they can actually be. Still, there’s no doubt that it’s a better choice than doing nothing. And I suppose that we’ll find out soon enough if these sorts of approaches have much merit to them.

(Tip of the hat to CleanTechnica reader Renaud Janson.)

Image: Activists in Belgium, via skyfish / Shutterstock.com