The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour of a group of elderly Swiss women who had argued that their government's inadequate efforts to combat climate change put them at risk of dying during heatwaves.
The European court's decision on the case, brought by more than 2,000 women, could have a ripple effect across Europe and beyond, setting a binding precedent for how some courts deal with the rising tide of climate litigation argued on the basis of human rights infringements. The Swiss verdict, which cannot be appealed, could compel the government to take greater action on reducing emissions, including revising its 2030 emissions reductions targets to get in line with the Paris agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Director at Galway's Global Legal Action Network Gearóid Ó Cuinn said the young people involved have had direct experience of climate impacts.