Swiss female pensioners vs the government: European court's first
climate case
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[March 28, 2023]
GENEVA (Reuters) - A case involving thousands of retired
Swiss women is being heard at a European Court in France, the
culmination of a six-year legal battle in which they claim their
government's insufficient action on climate change violated their human
rights.
The case, which campaign group Greenpeace initiated on behalf of the
women, will be heard on March 29 in the Grand Chamber of the European
Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
The case has twice been rejected by domestic courts.
Switzerland argues the case is inadmissible, saying the case is without
foundation and questioning whether the applicants count as victims.
In a sign of its importance, eight other governments (Romania, Latvia,
Austria, Slovakia, Norway, Italy, Portugal and Ireland) have joined the
case. At least one has echoed Bern in calling for its dismissal.
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Six lawyers, including two elite UK King's Counsel lawyers alongside the
original team, have prepared the case.
Here are some of their arguments:
- The case documents, or application in legal jargon, alleges four
violations of the European Convention of Human Rights (Arts 2, 6, 8 and
13) including the right to life.
- They say the women's age and gender places them in one of the
categories cited by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
as being at highest risk of temperature-related mortality. It also cites
the IPCC saying heatwaves are becoming more frequent due to climate
change.
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The building of the European Court of
Human Rights is seen in Strasbourg, France March 26, 2019.
REUTERS/Vincent Kessler
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- The case uses emerging evidence that older women are less able to
regulate their body temperatures than others. It cites several
reports including a 2014 World Health Organization document which
says the majority of European studies show women are more at risk of
dying from heatwaves.
- It says that around 30% of heat-related deaths in Switzerland can
be attributed to climate change in recent years, citing a 2021 study
published in Nature.
- Switzerland is aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by
2030 and to achieve net zero by 2050. Lawyers for the applicants
says its targets are "woefully inadequate".
- They take particular aim at Switzerland's strategy of purchasing
emissions reductions abroad and accounting for them in national
targets - a strategy that came under media scrutiny during the COP27
climate summit.
- The lawyers call for the Chamber to order rarely granted so-called
"General Measures" which in this case mean concrete emission
reduction targets within a fixed timeframe.
(Reporting by Emma Farge; editing by Christina Fincher)
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