CHRISTOF FORSTER A group of older Swiss women triumphed in Strasbourg at the beginning of April when their landmark climate case was largely upheld by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). “It is the biggest victory possible for us. We still can’t really believe it,” Rosmarie Wydler-Wälti told Swiss public television (SRF) immediately after the verdict. The group of ‘climate seniors’, or Senior Women for Climate Protection (Klimaseniorinnen), received moral and financial support from Greenpeace during the proceedings. The judges in Strasbourg ruled that Switzerland had violated the women’s human rights by not doing enough to combat global warming. This relates specifically to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which guarantees “the right to respect for private and family life”. The court expanded on Article 8 in reference to climate change, saying that states must take appropriate steps to prevent global temperatures from Triumphant ‘climate seniors’ cause a stir A group of older Swiss women have won their climate case at the European Court of Human Rights. Not everyone in Switzerland is happy with the verdict. The ruling will encourage environmental groups across Europe to bring similar actions against their own governments. reaching levels that would do serious and irreparable harm to human rights. The court found that there had been “critical gaps” in the process of putting in place the relevant domestic regulatory framework, and that the Swiss authorities had failed to quantify national limits on greenhouse gas emissions. The judges also stated that Switzerland had failed to meet its past CO2 reduction targets. European precedent The verdict sets a European precedent as it is the first time an international court has tied human rights directly to climate change. The 46 states of the Council of Europe could now be required by their citizens to rethink climate policy and, where necessary, ramp up climate action to protect human rights. The judges made no specific reference to what steps Switzerland should take, saying that it was not their reAccording to Rosmarie Wydler- Wälti, photographed here with Greta Thunberg, the ECtHR ruling is the “biggest victory possible”. But the verdict has caused a stir in Berne. Photo: Keystone Swiss Review / July 2024 / No.4 9 News
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