WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – A New Zealand law student is taking the government to court in hopes of forcing it to set more ambitious climate change targets.
The case brought by Sarah Thomson, 26, began Monday in the High Court in Wellington and is scheduled to last three days. It could be several months before a judge releases a decision.
Thomson is challenging the government over commitments that include a pledge under the Paris climate accord to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
In court filings, Thomson argued that pledge and the process for reaching it were “illogical, irrational, unreasonable and unlawful.”
She says the government needs to throw out the target and set a new one.