Climate Change Litigation before the European Court of Human Rights: A New Dawn

On 9 April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) made history by becoming the first international court to grant a complaint filed by climate activists. In Verein Klimaseniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland, the court determined that the respondent state had violated its human rights obligations by failing to adhere to climate targets outlined in national law and to develop credible plans to mitigate future emissions. Simultaneously, the court dismissed two complaints – Duarte Agostinho and others v Portugal and 32 other states, and Carême v France – which were filed on broadly similar grounds, due to procedural deficiencies. In all three, the applicants alleged they had suffered human rights violations, as a result of states’ failure to take adequate action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. All cases were decided by the court’s Grand Chamber, indicating that they raised ‘a serious question affecting the interpretation’ of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR, Article 30).

The ECtHR’s reasoning in these decisions builds and expands on its established jurisprudence on human rights and the environment. This body of case law comprises hundreds of decisions, evidencing the court’s consolidated stance that environmental damage may result in human rights violations. The KlimaSeniorinnen judgment marks a significant advancement in this jurisprudence, offering crucial clarification on the obligations of states in addressing the challenges posed by climate change. This post offers an initial analysis of the KlimaSeniorinnen judgment, alongside the decisions to dismiss Duarte Agostinho and Carême. It concludes by pondering the implications of these rulings on future climate change litigation.