The role of the judiciary in environmental securitisation. Urgenda Foundation v. The State of the Netherlands

Abstract

Since climate change is broadly recognised as a threat multiplier, the environmental problems are considered in the sense of security. Academic articles are focused on analysing states, international non-governmental organisations, as well as regional entities such as the European Union as securitising actors. Limited attention has been given to the judiciary. This article fills the existing gap. The aim of the research is to analyse how do the Dutch Courts securitise the climate in adjudicating the case Urgenda Foundation v. The State of the Netherlands’, through the lens of the securitisation theory. The implementation of discourse analysis as a research methodology has proved that the Dutch courts have contributed to environmental securitisation by ruling on the legal obligation of the Dutch government to prevent dangerous climate change in order to protect its citizens