European court rules nations must protect citizens from effects of climate change

Europe’s Court of Human Rights ruled Tuesday that the Swiss government violated a duty to address the effects of climate change on its citizens, a decision that could have major impacts for other European nations.

The court sided with a group of more than 2,000 Swiss women, most of them 70 or older. The KlimaSeniorinnen, or Climate Seniors, argued that as senior women, they are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of increased heat waves, and they are owed protections for life and health by the Swiss government under both the national constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. Under European case law, litigants in such cases must be a “particularly affected group.”

The plaintiffs argued their government had taken too long to develop a strategy to reduce emissions to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, the ceiling established by the Paris Climate Agreement. The court agreed on this count but ruled against four individual litigants who filed alongside the KlimaSeniorinnen.

“The Court found that the Convention encompasses a right to effective protection by the State authorities from the serious adverse effects of climate change on lives, health, well-being and quality of life,” the court said in a statement. “The Court found that the Swiss Confederation had failed to comply with its duties ('positive obligations') under the Convention concerning climate change.”

The court separately rejected two other climate lawsuits.  The first, from a group of Portuguese youth against 32 European states, was denied on the grounds that the plaintiffs had standing only against their government. The second, against the French government, was brought by Damien Carême, a member of the European Parliament for France. The court rejected Carême’s claim against the French government because it relates to catastrophic flooding in the town of Grande-Synthe, where he was once mayor but no longer lives.

Despite the rejection of the other two cases, the ruling in the Swiss case sets a precedent to sue the other 45 members of the Council of Europe on the same grounds.

“We expect this ruling to influence climate action and climate litigation across Europe and far beyond,” Center for International Environmental Law Senior Attorney Joie Chowdhury said in a statement. The ruling, Chowdhury said, “leaves no doubt: the climate crisis is a human rights crisis, and States have human rights obligations to act urgently and effectively and in line with the best available science to prevent further devastation and harm to people and the environment.”