On 9 April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights passed a landmark judgment on the responsibility of States concerning climate change impact on its citizens. The Verein Klimaseniorinnen Schweiz And Others V. Switzerland ruling based its reasoning on Article 8 of ECHR, regarding the right to private and family life, as the Court ruled that States have a positive obligation to implement sufficient measures to combat climate change and that individuals have a right to effective protection by the State authorities from the adverse effects that climate change has on the health, well-being and quality of life.
The applicants are Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz, a non-profit association whose goal is to promote and implement effective climate protection on behalf of its members – senior women living in Switzerland who are over the age of 70, with the rest of the applicants being seniors who are members of the association. The complaints put forth by the applicants concern restrictions that the extreme heatwaves that Europe has experienced in the last decade impose on them – inability to leave their houses, lethargy, and flaring of underlying health issues.
The legal remedy that the applicants were seeking concerned compelling the State to achieve its greenhouse gas emission targets so that it would hold the increase in global average temperature at most above 2°C above pre-industrial levels. The annual temperature in Switzerland had increased around 2.1°C since 1864, with the five warmest summers on record happening since 2003. This has led to an increase in heat-related mortalities, particularly among the elderly population, with 2022 experiencing a notable spike in such deaths.
Read more at https://inhouse-legal.eu/current-development/european-court-of-human-rights-passes-ruling-on-states-responsibility-on-the-enviroment/
