Landmark ruling finds inaction on climate change violating human rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) – a court that interprets the European Convention on Human Rights as part of the Council of Europe – has found weak government policies in Switzerland have put older women at greater risk of death from heatwaves.

A group of 2,400 women over the age of 70 called the KlimaSeniorinnen told the court elderly women are more likely to die in extreme heat and that Switzerland was not doing enough to cut emissions. In a seven-year campaign, the women argued that the failure to implement emissions reductions was affecting their living conditions and health.

In a majority of 16 votes to one, the court ruled that “Switzerland had failed to act in time and in an appropriate and consistent manner to devise, develop and implement relevant legislation and measures to mitigate the effects of climate change”.

Joie Chowdhury, a lawyer at the Centre for International Environmental Law who was on the group’s legal team, says the emphasises the link between climate change and human rights issues.

“We expect this ruling to influence climate action and climate litigation across Europe and far beyond,” Chowdhury says.

Importantly, the ruling could expose all 46 national members of the Council of Europe to similar legal action, which they will likely lose.

The court noted in that the current global mitigation efforts are not sufficient to meet the targets of limiting temperate increases to below 1.5°C. It used 1.5°C of global warming as a benchmark, unlike courts in the Netherlands and Germany, which used 2°C benchmarks for similar cases. The court also highlighted that those whose lives have been affected have not received appropriate justice.

Two similar cases – a French mayor’s case against France and a group of young Portuguese people registering a complaint against 32 European countries – were turned down by the court.