Marjan Minnesma | |
|---|---|
 Minnesma (2015) | |
| Born | Marjan Minnesma 1966 (age 57–58) |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Occupation | Activist |
| Known for | Co-founding Urgenda Foundation |
Marjan Minnesma (born 1966) is a Dutch activist. [1] [2]
Marjan Minnesma | |
|---|---|
| Minnesma (2015) | |
| Born | Marjan Minnesma 1966 (age 57–58) |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Occupation | Activist |
| Known for | Co-founding Urgenda Foundation |
Marjan Minnesma (born 1966) is a Dutch activist. [1] [2]
Marjan Minnesma was born and raised in Amsterdam. [1] She holds a degree in international law on climate change. [3]
In 2022, she received Goldman Environmental Prize for suing the Dutch government over its carbon emissions plans. [3] She won this lawsuit, becoming first woman to successfully sue a government over carbon emissions. [4]
Minnesma is the founder of Urgenda Foundation, [5] which aims to help enforce national, European and international environment treaties.
A carbon footprint (or greenhouse gas footprint) is a calculated value or index that makes it possible to compare the total amount of greenhouse gases that an activity, product, company or country adds to the atmosphere. Carbon footprints are usually reported in tonnes of emissions (CO2-equivalent) per unit of comparison. Such units can be for example tonnes CO2-eq per year, per kilogram of protein for consumption, per kilometer travelled, per piece of clothing and so forth. A product's carbon footprint includes the emissions for the entire life cycle. These run from the production along the supply chain to its final consumption and disposal.
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Individual action on climate change is about personal choices that everyone can make to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of their lifestyles. Such personal choices are related to the way people travel, their diet, shopping habits, consumption of goods and services, number of children they have and so on. Individuals can also get active in local and political advocacy work around climate action. People who wish to reduce their carbon footprint, can for example reduce their air travel for holidays, use bicycles instead of cars on a daily basis, eat a plant-based diet, and use consumer products for longer. Avoiding meat and dairy products has been called "the single biggest way" how individuals can reduce their environmental impacts.
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State of the Netherlands v Urgenda Foundation (2019) is climate change litigation heard by the Supreme Court of the Netherlands related to government efforts to curtail carbon dioxide emissions. The case was brought against the Dutch government in 2013, arguing the government, by not meeting a minimum carbon dioxide emission-reduction goal established by scientists to avert harmful climate change, was endangering the human rights of Dutch citizens as set by national and European Union laws.
Urgenda is a nonprofit foundation (stichting) in the Netherlands which aims to help enforce national, European and international environment treaties. In 2013, Urgenda filed a lawsuit against the state of the Netherlands – respectively also against the government – at the court of The Hague, to force them to make more effective policies that reduce the amount of emissions, with the aim to protect the people of the Netherlands against the effects of climate change and pollution.
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