In Europe, people are taking more governments to court over the climate crisis

In Europe, people are taking more governments to court over the climate crisis

It is possible we will see more legal action against governments in Europe, writes Danny Chivers.

The heatwaves in Europe over the last few years really affect older women most. Politicians are doing nothing about the climate crisis and this makes the danger worse. So, in 2022 a group of over 2,000 older Swiss women, all aged over 64, started a court case against their government because it did not meet its climate targets. They said that it put their lives at risk.

Two years later, in April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights agreed that it was against the women’s human rights, and that the Swiss government must legally change its climate policies and make sure its carbon reductions come faster.

The case could have big consequences, says Sam Hunter Jones from environmental law charity ClientEarth. ‘There are now more cases across Europe to support people’s rights around climate change,’ he says. ‘This one is so important because it comes from the top European human rights court. This means that all of the 46 countries and their judges need to make this part of their legal systems.’

The European Court of Human Rights said that the Convention on Human Rights includes ‘a right to protection by the state from the serious effects of climate change on lives, health, wellbeing, and quality of life’. So, if governments do not take action on climate change, they are violating the human rights of their citizens.

This could have important consequences for other legal cases already started. The European Court of Human Rights postponed a legal challenge by young people in Norway against government oil drilling licences until after the Swiss climate case and others. The case in Norway will now go ahead after the climate seniors result.

Polish citizens are taking their government to court because it did not take action on climate change policies just like the Swiss case. In Italy, ClientEarth and WWF are challenging plans for a new gas plant because of climate problems and there is a legal case over the EU Commission trying to say fossil gas is ‘sustainable’.

And the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, and the Inter-American Court are all going to make decisions in 2024 about the responsibility of national governments and climate change.

But is there a risk that climate action through the courts is undemocratic? Sam Hunter Jones from ClientEarth doesn’t think so. In May 2024, ClientEarth defeated the UK government for the second time because their climate plans were not good enough.

‘Of course, the courts aren’t enough – we also need new laws, and action,’ Sam Hunter Jones says. ‘But if a government has passed a law or they are not following a climate target, then it’s important that citizens can then use the courts to hold them responsible. It’s not anti-democratic, it’s part of democracy. Governments can still decide on exactly what climate policies they want but the policies must be strong enough to take action on the climate crisis.’

NOW TRY THE ORIGINAL:

https://newint.org/climate-justice/2024/europe-climate-lawsuits-take

(This article is in easier English so it is possible that we changed the words, the text structure, and the quotes.)