More climate protection: ECHR condemns Switzerland

For Italians, Switzerland is the epitome of cleanliness. Traditionally, after crossing the border in Chiasso, every father of a family points out the completely different conditions to his fellow travellers. Unfortunately, this does not also apply to climate protection; the Swiss Confederation was the first European state ever to be condemned by the European Court of Human Rights to do more for climate protection.

The increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves caused by climate change are a real and serious threat to health and to private and family life. The court sees a connection between these negative effects and the lack of Swiss climate protection measures. Article 8 ECHR also includes the right to be protected from the serious adverse effects of climate change on life, health, well-being and quality of life.

The case was brought by an association of “climate senior citizens”, which has around 2,500 members with an average age of 73 in Switzerland. It argued that older people are particularly affected by climate change due to their age-related impaired thermoregulation. Among other things, this leads to more severe heatwaves, which jeopardises their lives as well as their physical and mental health. It remains to be seen how the judgement will be enforced!

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