“Insufficient commitment to climate protection”: Young Portuguese sue 32 countries in Human Court

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Six young people from Portugal, aged 11 to 24, sued 32 countries, including Switzerland, over their inadequate commitments to climate protection. The Strasbourg court first began deliberating on Wednesday whether it has jurisdiction over the matter.

“Governments are not doing enough to protect us,” said 15-year-old André Oliveira. “We are at the forefront of climate change in Europe,” he stressed. Heat waves are getting worse, with temperatures occasionally reaching 30 degrees in his hometown in February.

concerns about the future

The case was filed in Portugal in 2017 due to terrible forest fires in which more than a hundred people died and thousands of hectares of vegetation burned. Since then, forest fires have occurred in Portugal sometimes, even several times a year, as a result of human-caused climate change.

The young plaintiffs, backed by a British human rights organisation, point out their growing fear of the consequences of climate change on their lives, as well as the consequences for their health, such as sleep problems, allergies and respiratory diseases.

In addition to the 27 EU member states, Russia, Turkey, Switzerland, Norway and the UK are also accused. Young people think that their right to life and privacy are being violated due to the hesitant approach of states on climate protection. They worry about their own future and the future of the families they may later raise in an increasingly hot climate.

The court gives priority to the trial

They emphasize that “states do not fulfill their obligations under international climate agreements.” Plaintiffs argue that states are violating human rights by not reducing greenhouse gas emissions fast enough.

Their lawyer, Gerry Liston of the Global Legal Action Network, said they hope to get a ruling that will force states to step up their fight against climate change. “From a legal perspective, this will make a big difference,” he emphasized.

This is the first time the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights has addressed climate change so openly. The court gave priority to the trial; The case is heard by the Grand Chamber, which consists of 17 judges.

In fact, the Strasbourg court only hears cases that have previously passed through the courts of the affected countries. Young plaintiffs say that this would not be possible with the resources in 32 countries. (AFP)

Source : Blick