People demonstrate outside the European Court of Human Rights Tuesday, April 9, 2024 in Strasbourg, eastern France.People demonstrate outside the European Court of Human Rights Tuesday, April 9, 2024 in Strasbourg, eastern France.STRASBOURG, France — Europe's highest human rights court began its session Tuesday on a group of landmark climate change cases aimed at forcing countries to meet international obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Although activists have had successes with lawsuits in domestic proceedings, this will be the first time an international court has ruled on climate change.A decision against any of the countries involved could force them to reduce net emissions to zero by 2030. The EU, which doesn't include Switzerland, currently has a target to be climate-neutral by 2050. Many governments have said that meeting a 2030 goal would be economically unattainable.
The decisions have"the potential to be a watershed moment in the global fight for a livable future. A victory for any of the three cases would be one of the most significant developments on climate change since the signing of the Paris Agreement" said Gerry Liston, a lawyer with the Global Legal Action Network, which is supporting the Portuguese students.
Such considerations were not predominantly on the mind of 16-year-old André dos Santos Oliveira of Portugal. At the other end of the age spectrum, a group of Swiss retirees are also demanding their government do more. Senior Women for Climate Protection, whose average age is 74, say older women's rights are especially infringed on because they are most affected by the extreme heat that will become more frequent due to global warming.
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