Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe’s Post

Does lackluster climate policy violate human rights? Today marks a significant moment as the European Court of Human Rights deliberates on three landmark climate cases. For the first time, numerous governments face litigation for failing to uphold human rights due to inadequate climate policies. The implications of these rulings could be significant. European citizens have taken legal action, arguing that their lives are endangered by the effects of climate change, and that national governments are not doing enough to protect them. Seventeen judges of Europe's highest human rights court are now determining whether governments are indeed violating human rights by failing to sufficiently address climate change. The cases originate from Switzerland, Portugal, and France. The first case, brought by a group of elderly Swiss women, underscores concerns about the health and living conditions of seniors threatened by global warming. In France, former Mayor Damien Carême of Grande-Synthe is advocating for better protection for coastal communities vulnerable to rising sea levels. Meanwhile, six Portuguese youths are challenging 33 countries, including the Netherlands, all other European Union members and other countries, citing increased heatwaves and devastating wildfires that jeopardize their lives and health. The surge in climate litigation follows in the footsteps of the Urgenda case in the Netherlands, where the government was held to bolster its climate policy after a successful legal challenge. The outcome of today's rulings could have the potential to compel nations to strengthen their climate commitments. Regardless of the verdicts, it will be interesting to observe as these cases serve as a guidepost for future legal battles, shaping the intersection of climate action and human rights. https://lnkd.in/e2wDB7St #ClimateAction #HumanRights #ClimateLitigation #Sustainability

In a landmark ruling that will set a benchmark for future climate litigation, Europe’s top human rights court has ruled that a government’s failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions can be considered a "violation of citizens’ rights". The case was brought by an association of 2000 senior Swiss women who claimed that the Swiss government is not taking enough action to address the adverse impact of global warming on their health. This is a historic judgement and will give a big boost to climate justice in Europe and other countries impacted by climate change.  #climatejustice  #climateaction #climatecrisis  https://lnkd.in/gUdJQY8p

This is great news coming out of Europe which could be viewed as ‘Round One’ in the public’s fight against the ‘environmental vandals’ (i.e. the #BigOil cartel) that are increasing the #ClimateCrisis. Meaning the #politicians that provide the protective shield for the #BigOil cartel that are increasing fossil fuel production will be forced, at a government level, to comply with this much more rigorous legislation in Europe. There is now increasing potential to hold personally accountable the BigOil cartel’s executive leadership (CEO, CXOs, Board of Directors…and their Financiers plus other enablers) who proactively and deliberately approve actions that inflict ‘collateral damage’ upon people/citizens. https://lnkd.in/g9cSSy7c “On 9 April, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a groundbreaking ruling: states are obliged to protect their citizens from the threats and harms of climate change. And in that regard, judges said, Switzerland’s climate action has been inadequate… This marks the first time that an international human-rights court has linked protection of human rights with duties to mitigate global warming, clarifying once and for all that climate law and policy do not operate in a human-rights vacuum. The ruling is bound to alter the course of climate protection around the world. The case was brought by Swiss Senior Women for Climate Protection (Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz), a group of more than 2,500 Swiss women aged 64 or over. They argued that they are at greater risk of heat-related illness or death than most people — and that, given that temperatures are rising, Switzerland was doing too little to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions and contribute to meeting the 2015 Paris Agreement targets. In doing so, Switzerland was violating its duty to protect them. The court agreed.”

⚖️ New joint submission shows Switzerland's failure to comply with the European Court of Human Rights’s climate judgment ⚖️ 📣 It’s high time for the Swiss gov to calculate a fair carbon budget & align its policies to the 1.5* global warming limit. Generation for Rights Over the World is one of the 30+ organizations calling on Switzerland to step up & comply with the ECHR’s climate judgment to #ActOnClimate. We are therefore calling on the Committee of Ministers to adopt a decision which: ✅ Rejects Switzerland’s request to close the case as Switzerland failed to set out the measures necessary to implement the judgment. ✅ Expresses concern with the response by Switzerland, which reiterates critiques on the Court’s judgment, ✅ Requests Switzerland to provide an action plan setting out the measures necessary to implement the judgment, including an indicative timetable reflecting the urgency of the matter, immediate action to quantify a national carbon budget that represents Switzerland’s fair share and the launch of a democratic process for revising domestic climate legislation to align with its GHG limitations. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eMhXs4Nh #KlimaSeniorinnen #UnitedForClimateJustice #ClimateTrials #HumanRights #ClimateJustice Klimaseniorinnen Greenpeace International Urgenda Greenpeace Suisse Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe The Center for Spatial Justice & Innovation Vincent Lefebvre Niccolò Fantin Solène Paris Manon Le Bihan Marie Chapot

Major European Court decision today! I think litigating human rights violations due to climate emergency must feel like holding the ocean with an umbrella... Huge congrats to those who do not give up! This is why I am reading with great interest today's 3 decisions of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the protection of human rights and climate emergency. For those who do not follow the Court's work, these were: 1. Carême v. France (https://shorturl.at/aXY59) - brought by a former mayor of the Grande-Synthe municipality, complaining that France had taken insufficient steps to prevent climate change and violated his right to life (under Article 2 of the Convention) and his right to respect for his private and family life and his home (Article 8). The Court has declared this application inadmissible on the grounds of not having 'victim status' within the meaning of Article 34 of the Convention. 2. Duarte Agostinho et al v. Portugal and 32 other states (https://lnkd.in/eHY6hudZ initiated by 6 young Portuguese nationals, who complained of the existing, and serious future, impacts of climate change on their human rights. This was also declared to be inadmissible. 3. The most important one, Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland (https://shorturl.at/mqAU0) - was brought by 4 women and a Swiss association, about the consequences of global warming on their living conditions and health. They complained that the Swiss authorities were not taking sufficient action, despite their duties under the Convention, to mitigate the effects of climate change. In this case, the Court found that under Article 8 of the Convention, the authorities have a positive obligation under the Convention concerning climate change and violated this obligation. Namely, it would there have been: - Critical gaps in the process of putting in place the relevant domestic regulatory framework, including a failure by the Swiss authorities to quantify, through a carbon budget or otherwise, national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limitations. - Failure to meet its past GHG emission reduction targets. - Failure to act in time and in an appropriate way to devise, develop and implement relevant legislation and measures in this case. So this is BIG as it establishes that States have a legal obligation under the European Convention to protect the population from serious adverse effects of climate change on lives, health, well-being and quality of life. The case is also interesting re Article 34 of the Convention - concerning victim status. In the Swiss case, only the association was granted such status while 4 individual applicants did not and their complaint was found inadmissible. Not surprised here, to be honest. So although the European Court did not award the applicants with too much generosity, this is a major landmark in the Court's jurisprudence. #EuropeanCourt #humanrights #climatechange #climatejustice #France #Portugal #Switzerland #Europe

Will the NGOs succeed in the 2nd Finnish climate case? The Finnish legal system is peculiar in that inaction by the government and public authorities is not a justiciable matter (ie something courts may address). In its 2023 decision dismissing the first Finnish climate case on procedural grounds, the Supreme Administrative Court indicated that it could make an exception in climate cases, should the government inaction in implementing the 2022 Climate Change Act persist. After that, the Government has not taken any meaningful action to address the policy gap - on the contrary, it has adopted new policies that may well increase Finland’s greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector. The facts underlying the case are therefore compelling - and the Klimaseniorinnen decision gives additional weight to the NGOs’ arguments. Indeed, the NGO coalition behind the case is larger this time and also includes human rights -focused NGOs. Still, the legal details are complex and some questions remain as to whether the Supreme Administrative Court will ultimately find the case admissible. The case clearly builds on the Court’s previous decision, while being broader and more ambitious in its scope.

The international climate negotiations during the 60th session of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB60) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) started today in Bonn. What is at stake? Climate negotiators arrive in Bonn amid ongoing and recently catastrophic loss and damage events that make ever present the deadly and disproportionate cost that the climate crisis is imposing on frontline communities. The climate crisis (literally) knocked at the door of the Bonn Climate Conference as the South of Germany experienced one of the worst floods of the last decade: https://lnkd.in/eZd8hJKx While the urgency of equitable and fair solutions to the climate crisis can no longer be ignored, countries keep fuelling the climate crisis by burning fossil fuels and engaging in activities leading to deforestation and forest or land degradation, and critical public finance remains all too scarce. We wonder why…Could it be because polluting industries are still in the room, but civil society – and that means people everywhere – have less and less space for speaking up, protesting, and joining others to demand climate justice? The SB60 takes place against increasing restrictions on freedom of assembly & protest at climate negotiations. Rather than listening to the critical voices of the people and communities on the frontlines calling for justice, too many countries are locking up people who speak their minds or preventing them from going out in the streets to protest. Since the last climate talks - COP28 in Dubai last year - very few governments have meaningfully increased the ambition of their climate action. Instead, often under the influence of corporate lobbyists, many have expanded their support for fossil fuels and doubled down on dangerous distractions. At SB60, CIEL experts will be closely monitoring the ambition gap between what States have promised in their Nationally Determined Contributions & what is necessary to limit warming to 1.5°C, including the need for an urgent phase-out of fossil fuels. In particular, we'll push for the integration of human rights, including the rights of Indigenous Peoples, in key decisions.  #SB60 #BoonClimateConference #JuneClimateMeetings #RoadToCOP29

#ClimateCrisis: Greenpeace files supreme court case accusing 🇫🇮Finland of climate inaction A group of environmental and rights organisations are suing Finland’s right-wing government for “lack of adequate climate action” and violating the country’s Climate Act by not taking adequate action to hit climate targets. The six organisations noted in a statement that Finland in 2022 had adopted “one of the strongest #NetZero climate targets among industrialised nations, committing to become climate neutral by 2035 and reach net negative emissions thereafter.” “Governments’ inaction on climate change endangers the realisation of many #humanrights, such as the rights to life and #health and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable #environment” Greenpeace Nordic Greenpeace International Amnesty International Finland https://lnkd.in/evCzV6Z4

Today, USCIB joins the international community in celebrating World Environment Day 2024. 🌍 🌵🌊 🏝 🐘 🌻 USCIB has championed the private sector’s role in environmental stewardship for decades and has been an active supporter of multilateral action on the environment since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. As an official observer organization to the UN Environment Programme (#UNEP), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (#UNFCCC), and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (#UNCBD), we help lead US business engagement across multilateral environmental negotiations. Our Director of Environment and Sustainable Development Agnes Vinblad is on the ground in Bonn, Germany, leading USCIB's Delegation to the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference, where technical negotiations to further implementation of the Paris Agreement are taking place: “At a time when the world is facing increasing fragmentation due to conflict, combined with overall economic and geopolitical uncertainty, it is especially important to look towards multilateralism as a critical tool for global cooperation. US businesses have played a significant role in environmental stewardship and USCIB will continue serving as an entryway and partner for businesses to engage in global environmental negotiations.” Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g3uMnJf8

Top European court rules human rights violated by climate inaction. "In a landmark decision, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has today ruled that climate change violates the right to respect for one’s private and family life. This is the main legal basis through which the court has previous rule on environmental cases, but an “historic” one regarding the climate crisis, observers say. The case was brought by an association of older Swiss women concerned about the impact of global warming on their health, who claim the Swiss government is not taking enough action." Read more https://lnkd.in/egieGBnq #europe #switzerland #humanrights #climatechange #climateaction #sustainability #future #globalgoals