STRASBOURG, France — Europe’s highest human rights court ruled Tuesday that its member nations must protect their citizens from the consequences of climate change in a landmark ruling that sided with a group of 2,000 Swiss women against their government in a case that could have implications across the continent.
The Swiss women were overjoyed as they descended to the court building’s foyer to cheers and applause. “I am overwhelmed at the result,” Pia Hollenstein, one of the women, said after the hearing. That, the court ruled, constituted a violation of the women's rights, noting that the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees people"effective protection by the state authorities from the serious adverse effects of climate change on their lives, health, well-being and quality of life.”
She said it would open the door to more legal challenges in the countries that are members of the Council of Europe, which includes the 27 EU nations as well as many others from Britain to Turkey. Judge Siofra O’Leary, the court's president, stressed that it would be up to governments to decide how to approach climate change obligations.
But activists have argued that many governments have not grasped the gravity of the problem — and are increasingly looking to the courts to force more action.
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