Switzerland Climate Change Case Links Policies To Human Rights: What To Know About Landmark Decision

Swiss Government Violated Human Rights By Not Combating Climate Change, Court Says  Forbes

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Apr 9, 2024 - 14:30
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Switzerland Climate Change Case Links Policies To Human Rights: What To Know About Landmark Decision

Switzerland Climate Change Case Links Policies To Human Rights: What To Know About Landmark Decision

Topline

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday said governments have a duty to work to stop climate change and mitigate its impact on residents, ruling for a group of older women who claimed they’re at a higher risk of death from heat waves because the Swiss government has not done enough to protect them from the warming planet.

Key Facts

The court said it is a violation of basic human rights for a government to not meet emissions targets or otherwise work to fight climate change, a ruling that could open the door for more legal challenges in the 46 member countries in the Council of Europe human rights group.

Court President Siofra O’Leary blasted Switzerland’s government for failing to cut its greenhouse gas emissions and for not implementing a solid domestic regulatory framework that would take concrete steps toward tackling climate change.

Switzerland will have to pay €80,000 (roughly $87,000) in the judgment to cover the legal costs of the group who brought the suit after the court rejected its argument that human rights law does not apply to climate change, according to the New York Times.

The case was one of three similar climate lawsuits to go before the court, which ruled the other two inadmissible largely on jurisdictional grounds—one was bought by a group of six youth activists in Portugal over greenhouse gas emissions and the other by the former mayor of a French coastal town more prone to flooding as climate change continues to worsen.

O’Leary ultimately decided it will be up to individual governments to decide how they meet their climate change obligations, the Associated Press reported.

Crucial Quote

“It is clear that future generations are likely to bear an increasingly severe burden of the consequences of present failures and omissions to combat climate change,” SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

  1. SDG 13: Climate Action

    • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
    • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning
    • Target 13.5: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible

    The article highlights the European Court of Human Rights ruling that governments have a duty to work to stop climate change and mitigate its impact on residents. This connects to SDG 13, which focuses on climate action. The court’s ruling emphasizes the importance of meeting emissions targets and taking concrete steps towards tackling climate change, which aligns with the targets under SDG 13.

  2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

    • Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination

    The article mentions that the older women who brought the lawsuit claimed they are at a higher risk of death from heat waves due to the Swiss government’s failure to protect them from the warming planet. This relates to SDG 3, which aims to ensure good health and well-being for all. The target of reducing deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and pollution is relevant in this context.

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
  • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
  • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning
  • Target 13.5: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
 No specific indicators mentioned in the article.
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination
 No specific indicators mentioned in the article.

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Source: forbes.com

 

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