The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday decided whether inadequate government actions on climate change could amount to a violation of human rights, in three rulings that could grant legal strength to climate activists across the continent. The cases brought before a panel of 17 judges in Strasbourg, France, add to a growing number of climate-related lawsuits against governments based on human rights law.
Any ruling could impose further changes in national policies to keep nations aligned with the globally agreed target of limiting temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. In the first lawsuit filed in 2020, six young Portuguese accused 32 countries, among the largest greenhouse gas emitters in Europe, of failing to prevent catastrophic warming, which they claim threatens their right to life. The youths are not seeking financial compensation but are asking governments to significantly reduce emissions.
More than 2,000 elderly Swiss women state that the government's "entirely insufficient" efforts to combat global warming put them at risk of death during heatwaves. They seek a ruling that could compel Bern to cut fossil fuel emissions much faster than currently planned. In the latest lawsuit, Damien Carême, a former French mayor, challenges Paris for failing to take more ambitious measures to mitigate climate change.
A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs could set a precedent for the 46 signatory countries of the European Convention on Human Rights. The rulings, which cannot be appealed, are also likely to serve as guiding evidence in climate litigation.
