the ECHR seizes on the alleged French climate inaction

The spectacle is grandiose, the images spectacular, but climate change is at work. The coasts are inexorably eroding and the risk of submersion of the northern coast, in Dunkirk, will be real by 2030. Damien Carême, resident of Grande-Synthe and former mayor of the town, considers himself threatened by the rise of the sea ​​level. He decided to take France to the European Court of Human Rights. “In Grande-Synthe, the city, its inhabitants, we were extremely committed to the fight against climate change and the one who was missing is the French State which does not respect international commitments. , the Paris Agreement”, he explains.

Judgments handed down in a few months

This is the first time that the European Court of Human Rights will deal with the alleged climate inaction of States which would violate certain articles of the European Convention on Human Rights. “The question posed is: are human rights impacted by climate change and does the European Court have jurisdiction to review the action of states and their sufficiency”, summarizes Corine Lepage, Damien Carême’s lawyer. In a few months, no doubt: States and citizens will have their eyes riveted on the judgments delivered by the European Court of Human Rights.