Belgian court orders 55% emissions cut from 1990 levels

Belgium has been praised for its use of windfarms but the court of appeal said its climate targes were ‘clearly insufficient’. Photograph: Eric Lalmand/BELGA MAG/AFP/Getty Images

A Belgian court has declared the country’s climate targets “clearly insufficient” and ordered the government to cut emissions faster.

In a powerful victory for climate campaigners, the Brussels court of appeal ordered Belgium to cut its planet-heating pollution by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030. By 2021, Belgium had cut its emissions by just 24%.