EU Human Rights Court Rules Governments Must Address Climate Change
17 hours ago Eric Worrall 54 Comments
Essay by Eric Worrall
Weak Swiss Government climate policies were found to violate the rights of older Swiss women by increasing their risk of dying in heatwaves.
Human rights violated by inaction on climate, ECHR rules in landmark case
Court finds in favour of group of older Swiss women who claimed weak policies put them at greater risk of death from heatwaves
Ajit Niranjan Tue 9 Apr 2024 20.29 AEST
Weak government climate policies violate fundamental human rights, the European court of human rights has ruled.
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The court’s top bench ruled that Switzerland had violated rights of a group of older Swiss women to family life, but threw out a French mayor’s case against France and that of a group of young Portuguese people against 32 European countries.
“It feels like a mixed result because two of the cases were inadmissible,” said Corina Heri, a law researcher at the University of Zürich. “But actually it’s a huge success.”
The court, which calls itself “the conscience of Europe”, found that Switzerland had failed to comply with its duties to stop climate change. It also set out a path for organisations to bring further cases on behalf of applicants.
The Swiss verdict opens up all 46 members of the Council of Europe to similar cases in national courts that they are likely to lose.
…https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/04/09/eu-court-rules-governments-must-address-climate-change/
