Swiss Climate Group Wins Victory At European Court Of Human Rights

Three months ago, we wrote a story about a group of older women who are climate advocates in Switzerland. They call themselves— the youngest member is 64 years old — and they sued the government of Switzerland in the European Court of Human Rights, claiming the Swiss government has denied them a clean and safe environment.

Legal scholars say that suits based on the notion that global heating is harming all people won’t succeed, but a suit filed by a small group of people who can show they have been adversely affected more than others in the general population might be successful — emphasis on “might.” Their case, which could send shockwaves through courts across the continent, rests on two simple facts:Women, particularly older ones, are more likely to die when temperatures soar.

Charlotte Blattner, a researcher at the University of Berne who specializes in climate law, said experts were hopeful that the process would enshrine milestones that nudged governments into more stringent climate policy through human rights guarantees.

Anton Foley, who along with Greta Thunberg was representing Aurora, a youth group that filed a climate lawsuit against Sweden, said it was “unjust” that responsibility for stopping the climate crisis fell on young people and praised the Swiss women for stepping up. “We don’t want to be the hope for the older generation. We want them to do this, because we don’t want to fight this fight.

Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

European Court of Human Rights rules in favor of elderly Swiss women in climate caseThe European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled in favor of more than 2,000 elderly Swiss women who argued that their government's efforts to tackle the climate crisis were insufficient to protect them from more frequent and intense heat waves. This decision is seen as a groundbreaking moment for climate litigation cases argued on human rights grounds.
Source: NBCPhiladelphia - 🏆 569. / 51 Read more »

European Court of Human Rights to Rule on Landmark Climate Change CasesEurope’s highest human rights court will rule on a group of landmark climate change cases aimed at forcing countries to meet international obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Source: wjxt4 - 🏆 246. / 63 Read more »

European court rules Switzerland climate inaction violated human rightsThe European Court of Human Rights ruled that Switzerland violated some rights by failing to slow effects of climate change, although it tossed out two other cases.
Source: washingtonpost - 🏆 95. / 72 Read more »

European nations must protect citizens from climate change impacts, EU human rights court rulesEurope's top human rights court rules EU nations must protect citizens from climate change, as campaigners take heart from mixed decisions.
Source: CBSNews - 🏆 87. / 68 Read more »

Landmark Ruling by European Court of Human Rights on Climate ChangeThe European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has made a significant ruling on human rights and climate change, stating that the Swiss government has not done enough to combat the climate crisis. The court also found that the plaintiffs, a group of older women from Switzerland, were denied their right to a fair trial.
Source: WIRED - 🏆 555. / 51 Read more »

Norwegian 'People vs. Arctic Oil' Case Heads to European Human Rights CourtJessica Corbett is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.
Source: commondreams - 🏆 530. / 51 Read more »