THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Climate activists won a final victory Friday in their long-running battle through Dutch courts to force the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The country’s highest court upheld two earlier rulings ordering the government to cut emissions by at least 25% by the end of 2020 from benchmark 1990 levels.

Activists in the packed courtroom clapped and cheered as Presiding Judge Kees Streefkerk said the court had rejected the government's appeal.