In a case brought before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Switzerland has been found to be in violation of its human rights obligations due to inadequate efforts to combat the impacts of climate change. This latest decision comes in response to a complaint lodged by a group of elderly women activists organized under Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz (Senior Women for Climate Protection).
The ECHR, with a 16 to one majority ruling, determined that Switzerland had infringed upon Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Convention), the mandate which guarantees the right to respect of private and family life. Further, the Grand Chamber unanimously agreed that Switzerland had failed to uphold Article 6, Section 1 of the Convention, a provision assuring access to the court system.
The advocacy group Senior Women for Climate Protection is composed of over 2,000 senior citizens concerned with climate change issues. The group took legal action against Swiss authorities, arguing that the government failed to mitigate climate change impacts consistent with the Convention’s obligations. According to a previous statement by the group, they demand that “the federal authorities correct the course of Swiss climate policy because the current climate targets and measures are not sufficient to limit global warming to a safe level.”
The group has further argued that its makeup, comprising entirely of elderly women, is important due to there being “substantial evidence to show that we are at a significantly greater risk of dying or of becoming ill as a result of heat.”
The judgment of the ECHR reaffirms that the Article 8 guarantee provides a right to effective protection from the adverse effects of climate change by State authorities. Within this obligation, the primary responsibility of a contracting state is to enforce regulations that can mitigate the already existing and potentially irreversible impacts of climate change.
The court’s ruling against Switzerland cites the country’s failures to meet obligations, such as shortcomings in regulatory frameworks and missed greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. In addition, the court found that Swiss courts had provided insufficient reasons for dismissing the applicant association’s legal actions, which violates Article 6, Section 1 of the Convention.
Between November 2016 and May 2020, the Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz saw multiple attempts to seek legal recourse within the Swiss court system dismissed. As a result of this judgment, the ECHR ordered Switzerland to pay 80,000 Euros to the group to cover the associated legal costs and expenses.
This case sets a new legal precedent within the realm of climate change litigation. It underscores the use of human rights as an effective recourse to push state governments into action, and it also presents an opportunity to expose systemic climate inaction at a national level. This is particularly insightful when considering current and future cases where the link between climate change and human rights violations may be drawn.