Romania’s first climate lawsuit underway as NGOs push for more ambitious goals
The first climate lawsuit in Romania, initiated by the Declic Association, is underway in Cluj and is supported by other environmental organizations.
2Celsius president Raul Cazan said he believes that the case is necessary because Romania has become a graveyard for second-hand vehicles the importation of which has been encouraged by fiscal policies and government programs over the past decades. "As a result, Romania's transport emissions are increasing, unlike those in other sectors of the economy. This legal action is the civil society's last solution, proof that our advocacy for climate action has hit the wall of irresponsible politics," Cazan said.
On April 10, 2023, the Cluj Court of Appeals rejected the claims made by the Ministries of Environment and Energy that would have blocked the process and ordered the trial to proceed.
Urgenda Foundation, which won the first climate lawsuit in Europe, is intervening in the process opened in Romania by Declic. The Climate Litigation Network (CLN), part of the Urgenda Foundation, sent a letter to the Cluj Court of Appeals in support of the Declic lawsuit, drawing the attention of the judges to the jurisprudence of courts in several European countries.
Urgenda Foundation won the first historic case in Europe on climate change against the Dutch state. Their case was based on obligations under civil law and international human rights law.
In Urgenda’s pioneering case, "the Hague District Court ordered the [Dutch] state to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2020, considering the damage caused by climate change. This was the first time a court had obliged a government to reduce its national GHG emissions by an absolute minimum amount. The decision was ultimately confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court in 2019," stated the 2Celsius briefing cited by Digi24.
Bankwatch Romania and the 2Celsius association also support Declic and became parties in the case.
"It is time to carefully analyze who is actually responsible for the climate crisis we are facing. Romania ranks a shameful third from the bottom in an EU ranking of installed solar and wind energy capacity per capita, despite significant potential. In practice, between 2016 and 2021, no new capacity based on these sources was put into operation. Instead of accelerating these solutions, the Romanian government has been handing blank checks to major polluters, mostly state-owned companies, while highlighting the individual responsibility of citizens. We are confident that this process will rebalance the scales," said Ioana Ciută, president of Bankwatch Romania.
The Declic community is asking the judges to compel the government to take concrete actions to combat climate change. Furthermore, Declic representatives are requesting that prime minister Nicolae Ciucă, energy minister Virgil Popescu, and environment minister Tanczos Barna be fined for each day they delay taking measures.
"We are asking the Cluj Court of Appeals to compel the Romanian Government to take on much more ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050, including by increasing the share of renewables in final energy consumption and energy efficiency. We consider that the current objectives are insufficient, thus violating the legal obligations assumed by the Constitution, the Paris Agreement, and the European Climate Law," declared Roxana Mândruţiu, coordinating lawyer of the team of lawyers who drafted the action, from the law firm Revnic, Cristian, and Associates.
Declic argues that the government's inactivity affects "the right to life and the right to private life, the right to property, the right to a decent standard of living, the right to a healthy and sustainable environment, as well as the right to a dignified future for future generations." At the same time, the organization argues that “the state has an obligation to take measures to ensure a healthy and sustainable future for all citizens."
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