Swiss women win landmark climate victory at European Court of Human Rights

Europe’s highest human rights court has ruled that its member nations have an obligation to protect their citizens from the effects of the climate crisis in a landmark ruling.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) sided with more than 2,000 Swiss members of Senior Women for Climate Protection, who had argued that their government’s inadequate efforts to combat climate change put them at risk of dying during heatwaves.

Court president Siofra O’Leary said the Swiss government had violated the human right to a private and family life, by failing to put in place sufficient domestic policies to tackle climate change.

“This included a failure to quantify, through a carbon budget or otherwise, national greenhouse gas emissions limitations,” president O’Leary told the courtroom. She also noted the Swiss government had failed to meet its past greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, by not putting in place measures to ensure the goals were achieved.

One of the Senior Women for Climate Protection’s leaders, Rosmarie Wydler-Walti, said she was struggling to grasp the full extent of the decision. “We keep asking our lawyers, ‘Is that right?’. And they tell us ‘it’s the most you could have had. The biggest victory possible’.”

“This ruling is not just a victory for the Senior Women for Climate Protection. Our victory is a victory for all generations,” she added in a statement.

The Federal Office of Justice, which represents the Swiss government at the court, has taken note of the ruling, the government said, adding: “Together with the authorities concerned, we will now analyse the extensive judgment and review what measures Switzerland will take in the future.”

The European court’s decision on the case could have a ripple effect across Europe and beyond, setting a precedent for how some courts deal with the rising tide of climate litigation argued on the basis of human rights infringements.

Although activists have had successes with lawsuits in domestic proceedings, this was the first time an international court ruled on climate change.

However, the court threw out a high-profile case brought by six Portuguese youngsters aimed at forcing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A case brought by a French mayor similarly seeking stronger government efforts to combat climate change was also defeated.

Those involved in bringing the three cases had hoped the Strasbourg court would find that national governments have a legal duty to make sure global warming is held to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, in line with the goals of the Paris climate agreement.

“I really hoped that we would win against all the countries, so obviously I’m disappointed that this didn’t happen,” said 19-year-old Sofia Oliveira, one of the Portuguese plaintiffs. “But the most important thing is that the court has said in the Swiss women’s case that governments must cut their emissions more to protect human rights. So, their win is a win for us, too, and a win for everyone!”

In reference to its fundamental Convention of Human Rights, “the court found that Art. 8 of the Convention encompasses a right for individuals to effective protection by the state authorities from the serious adverse effects of climate change on their lives, health, well-being and quality of life”.

Judgments from the ECHR set a legal precedent against which future lawsuits would be judged in the Council of Europe’s 46 member states.