European Court of Human Rights to Rule on Whether Governments Must Protect People From Climate Change

External view of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France on April 27, 2022. Mustafa Yalcin / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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This week, the European Court of Human Rights could make a landmark ruling that governments have an obligation to protect people from the adverse impacts of climate change.

Judges will rule on three distinct cases concerning whether people’s human rights were breached when governments failed to protect them from the ravages of a warming planet.

“We all are trying to achieve the same goal,” said Catarina Mota, a 23-year-old plaintiff in one of the cases, as Reuters reported. “A win in any one of the three cases will be a win for everyone.”

One of the cases — Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland — concerns a complaint brought by members of a Swiss association of older women who are concerned about the impacts of global heating on their health and living conditions, the European Court of Human Rights said in a press release.

The group of women claim that Bern’s failure to reduce emissions that aligns with a pathway to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius was in breach of their right to life, reported Reuters.

They cited a report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that found older adults and women were some of those most at risk of death from extreme temperatures during heat waves.

Attorneys for the women are looking for a decision that could compel Switzerland to pick up the pace of its carbon emissions reductions.

Another of the cases — Carême v. France — involves a former mayor of the city of Grande-Synthe who says France has not taken enough action to prevent global heating, which equates to a violation of “the right to respect for private and family life” and “the right to life,” the press release said.

In a third case — Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Others — plaintiffs say current and future climate change impacts are the responsibility of states and affect their well-being, mental health and “the peaceful enjoyment of their homes.”

“The three cases are quite distinct in terms of who’s bringing the case, which government or governments is being sued, and what the ask is in the case,” said Lucy Maxwell, Climate Litigation Network’s co-director, as Reuters reported.

The rulings of the panel of 17 judges will not be able to be appealed.

Maxwell added that the court could deem a case too complex for its framework and decide it must be sent to a national forum.

Meanwhile, some governments involved have said the lawsuits are inadmissible. Switzerland claimed the court of human rights is not the “supreme court” regarding environmental cases.

Whatever the outcome, the rulings will provide precedent for future cases on how climate change impacts the right of humans to a habitable planet.

Maxwell said a decision against the governments of Portugal or Switzerland would “send a clear message that governments have legal duties to significantly increase their efforts to combat climate change in order to protect human rights,” reported Reuters.

If countries did not amend their emissions reduction goals for 2030 in response to the rulings, additional litigation could be brought in national courts.

“If successful… it would be the most important thing to happen for the climate in Europe since the Paris Agreement because it kind of has the effect of a regional European treaty,” said Ruth Delbaere, a civic movement senior legal campaigner for Avaaz, which assisted with fundraising for legal fees for the Portuguese youths, as Reuters reported.

The rulings will be the first by the European Court of Human Rights on whether policies related to climate change violate people’s human rights as set forth in the European Convention.

Maxwell said the rulings could also influence decisions in other countries. Climate cases concerning violations of human rights are currently being considered in Brazil, Peru, South Korea and Australia.

“They will be looking at what happens in Europe and there will be ripple effects well outside,” Maxwell said.

The rulings by the European Court of Human Rights will be delivered at a public hearing on Tuesday in Strasbourg, France.

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