Senior Swiss woman wins landmark climate change case at European Court of Justice

STRASBOURG, France (AP) – Europe’s highest court of human rights ruled Tuesday that member states have an obligation to protect their citizens from the negative effects of climate change, but the attention still raised by the European Union The high-level lawsuit was dismissed. 6 young portuguese men It aims to force countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The European Court of Human Rights upheld the 2,000 senior climate protection women members in Switzerlanda mixed ruling seeking such measures also defeated a French mayor who had also called for stronger government efforts to combat climate change.

Lawyers for all three parties hope the Strasbourg court will find that governments have a legal obligation to ensure global warming is kept to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. was. paris climate agreement.

Sofia Oliveira, 19, one of the Portuguese plaintiffs, said, “I really wanted to win against all the countries, so of course it’s disappointing that it didn’t happen.” “But most importantly, the court said in the Swiss woman’s case that governments need to further reduce emissions to protect human rights. Their victory is therefore also a victory for us. And it’s a win for everyone!”

In reference to the Convention on Fundamental Human Rights, “the Court found that article 2: It includes the right to be effectively protected by state authorities from

The European Court of Human Rights’ decision set a legal precedent for future cases to be tried in the 46 member states of the Council of Europe.

Activists have won domestic lawsuits, but this is the first time an international court has ruled on climate change.

“This is a turning point,” said Corinna Herri, a climate change litigation expert at the University of Zurich. Tuesday’s decision, she said, confirms for the first time that countries have an obligation to protect people from the effects of climate change and opens the door to further legal challenges.

A large crowd gathered in front of the court building ahead of the verdict, cheering and waving flags. climate activist Greta Thunberghe was trying to escape multiple arrests during demonstrations in The Hague over the weekend.

The decision “could be a watershed moment in the global fight for a more livable future. A victory in any of the three lawsuits would mark one of the most important developments on climate change since the signing of the Paris Agreement.” ” said Jerry Liston, an attorney with the Global Legal Action Network, which supports Portuguese students.

The European Union, excluding Switzerland, currently has Goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050. Many governments say reaching the 2030 target is economically unfeasible.

The groups were confident that the 17 judges would rule in their favor, but a mixed verdict could overturn previous rulings in the Netherlands. In 2019, The Dutch Supreme Court issued an order The government requires emissions to be reduced by at least 25% from 1990 benchmark levels by the end of 2020.

The Urgenda decision refers to the climate organizations that brought the lawsuit and relies on the European Convention on Human Rights. The ruling could be overturned if Tuesday’s decision concludes that countries have no legal obligation to fight climate change.

Dennis van Berkel, representing Urgenda in the Netherlands, said: “The court’s decision is binding on all countries.”

16-year-old Andre dos Santos Oliveira, along with five other young people, has filed a lawsuit against Portugal and 32 other countries, claiming that their failure to halt emissions violates their fundamental rights. Their lawsuit was dismissed.

“Extreme heatwaves, rainfall and subsequent heatwaves are just suffocating us with the greenhouse effect. And what worries me is that they’re starting to happen more and more often. I was really scared, and I thought, what can I do?” she said.

However, the judges ruled in favor of a group of Swiss retirees who are demanding further action from the Swiss government. With an average age of 74, women climate advocates say the rights of older women are particularly violated because they are the ones most affected by climate change. Extreme heat waves will become more frequent due to global warming.

earth Breaking global annual heat record Globally agreed warming thresholds will be exceeded in 2023, showing further signs of a hot planet, the European Climate Agency Copernicus said. said in January.

In all three cases, lawyers argued that if the Earth was uninhabitable, the political and national protections guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights would be meaningless.

Alain Chablais, the country’s representative at last year’s hearing, said Switzerland was not the only country affected by global warming. “Switzerland cannot solve this problem alone.”

The court recognized the urgency of the climate crisis and quickly disposed of all three cases, including the unusual step of allowing the Portuguese case to avoid domestic legal proceedings.