Swiss eco-activists win court case against their government over global warming
The ruling is expected to set a precedent for further climate-related lawsuits
An organisation of Swiss pensioners has won a court case against their government, which they accused of not doing enough to combat global warming.
On Tuesday, 9 April, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, finding that the Swiss authorities had violated the Convention on Human Rights and, in particular, the climate activists' rights to private and family life and the right to a fair trial.
Source. This was reported by Deutsche Welle.
Members of Klimaseniorinnen, an association of retired women established in Switzerland at the initiative of Greenpeace, argued that due to their age, they are particularly sensitive to climate change, in particular due to periods of extreme heat.
According to Greenpeace, the organisation has more than 2,500 women across Switzerland, with an average age of 73.
News agencies note that this trial was the first time that the ECHR Grand Chamber considered a lawsuit related to CO2 emissions in a particular country, as well as the question of the extent to which climate protection is a human right.
The judgment is expected to set a precedent for further climate-related lawsuits.
At the same time, two other climate-related lawsuits were rejected by the Strasbourg Court. Thus, the ECHR refused to rule on the lawsuit filed by six young Portuguese against 32 European states, believing that they had not exhausted legal options in their country.
In addition, the court dismissed a climate protection lawsuit filed by the former mayor of a coastal city in France.
Background. As a reminder, environmental activist Greta Thunberg was detained at a rally in The Hague. Activists are calling on the Dutch authorities not to subsidise fossil fuel production.
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