On 9 April 2024, the European Court of Fundamental Human Rights pronounced a sentence destined to become historic, condemning Switzerland for failing to implement adequate actions to combat climate change.
The Swiss state was called into question by the “Elders for the Climate” association, which – after having attempted to obtain protection through internal jurisdictional remedies – decided to bring the issue to the attention of the judges in Brussels.
The appellants asked the Court to ascertain the violation by Switzerland of the fundamental right to health, provided for in art. 2 of the ECHR, and that of private and family life referred to in art. 8 of the European Convention, due to the failure to adopt legislative and administrative measures aimed at combating climate change.
Environmental protection, therefore, is closely linked to the protection of fundamental rights such as health; in fact, the “Elderly for the climate” association have denounced the worsening of their living conditions due to the anomalous rise in temperatures, which represents one of the most evident effects of the climate crisis now underway. The association also requested the condemnation of the state to adopt legislative and administrative acts to avoid the increase in tglobal average temperature of over 1.5°C, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
It is interesting to note that the ECtHR, in addition to the violation of fundamental rights mentioned above, also ascertained the violation of art. 6 of the convention, which establishes the right to a fair trial.
In fact, the appellants had triedsince 2016, to obtain protection before domestic judges without however obtaining a ruling.
The story is similar to that of the “Last Judgment” case with which various Italian associations and individuals asked a civil judge to condemn the Italian state for failure to comply with its obligations to reduce emissionsthe of CO2 taken on an international and European level, compromising fundamental human rights, such as the right to health, and also the right to preserve the living conditions of future generations.
Also in this case, the Italian judge felt he could not rule so as not to interfere in choices falling within political discretion.
Precisely for this reason, the ruling of the European Court of Fundamental Human Rights takes on extraordinary relevance in the fight against climate change, recognizing its inherent respect for fundamental human rights, which must receive protection, if not through actions implemented by the States against climate disasters, by the Judges.
Finally, the circumstance that l‘importance of the so-called climate litigation (or climate causes) in the world is growing and that their number, according to UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), it has more than doubled from 2017 to today.
Tags: Victory Older Women Climate association ECHR condemns Switzerland
