The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered a historic judgment on Tuesday by condemning for the first time a State for climate inaction, in this case Switzerland, a legally binding decision which should set a precedent in the 46 Member States of the Council of Europe.
“Today’s judgment is a historic judgment and we are really very, very happy to have taken this to the European Court of Human Rights,” said Anne Mahrer, one of the environmental activists. Swiss who condemned Berne. “Now we will be extremely attentive to ensuring that Switzerland implements the decision. »
Greta Thunberg, present in Strasbourg, welcomed “the beginning” in terms of climate litigation.
“Across the world, more and more people are taking their governments to court to hold them accountable for their actions. Under no circumstances must we back down, we must fight even harder because this is only the beginning,” said the young Swedish climate activist.
While the month of March broke a new world heat record, the Court’s decision was eagerly awaited: the ECHR had never before ruled on the responsibility of States in matters of climate change.
But the president of the ECHR, the Irish Siofra O’Leary, delivered three different conclusions on the same theme.
If Switzerland was condemned, two other requests were rejected: that of a former environmentalist mayor of a coastal town in the North of France, and above all the highly publicized one of young Portuguese people against 32 States.
“Legal obligation”
The first case was brought by the “Elders for Climate Protection” (2,500 Swiss women aged 73 on average). They denounced “failures by the Swiss authorities to mitigate the effects of climate change”, which have negative consequences on their living conditions and their health.
Switzerland “has a legal obligation to implement this ruling,” Berne lawyer Alain Chablais told AFP. “It will take some time to determine what measures will be taken” by the Swiss government, he continued, while estimating that “this judgment will set a precedent”.
The ECHR, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights, said there had been a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) and Article 6 (access to a tribunal).
The Court thus affirms that Article 8 enshrines the right to effective protection, by the authorities of a State, against the serious harmful effects of climate change on life, health, well-being and quality of life.
“A victory for all”
A second file was at the initiative of French MEP (ex-EELV) Damien Carême. This former mayor of Grande-Synthe attacked the “deficiencies” of the French state, believing in particular that they pose a risk of submersion to the city, on the coast of the North Sea. But the Court did not recognize him as a victim, in particular because he no longer lives in France.
Finally, the third case was supported by a collective of six Portuguese aged 12 to 24, mobilized after the terrible fires which ravaged their country in 2017.
Their request was directed not only against Lisbon, but also against all EU states, as well as Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Russia, making 32 countries in total. But the Court found that they had not exhausted legal remedies in their country.
Even though their request was rejected, the Portuguese believed that this failure was largely compensated by the decision concerning Switzerland.
“I was hoping we would win against all these countries, so I’m obviously disappointed,” said one of the plaintiffs, Sofia Oliveira, 19. “But the most important thing is that the Court considered, in the case of the Swiss, that States must further reduce their emissions in order to defend human rights. Their victory is therefore a victory also for us and a victory for everyone! »
Under the terms of the Paris Agreement in 2015, states committed to limiting global warming “well below” 2 degrees since pre-industrial times (1850-1900), and 1.5 degrees if possible.
However, with a new temperature record in March, the last 12 months have been the hottest ever recorded in the world, 1.58 degrees warmer than in the planet’s climate in the 19th century, the observatory announced on Tuesday. European Copernicus.