What Strasbourg’s climate ruling means for Europe

Today, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on an unprecedented trio of cases which claimed that European states have taken insufficient action to combat climate change.

The outcome of the claims were mixed. But the judgments of the Strasbourg Court are likely to prove exceedingly contentious.

The three cases involved claims against Switzerland, France and Portugal. They were heard by the Grand Chamber of the Strasbourg Court – essentially Europe’s top human rights court – with judges from 17 European states.

In the Swiss claim, individuals and an association of older Swiss women claimed that they were at particular risk of illness because of climate induced heatwaves. The claim from France highlighted the risk of future flooding. The Portuguese claim argued that wildfires, beginning in 2017, impacted the claimants’ lives, homes, and wellbeing. This final case was the most bold. It was brought not only against Portugal (where the claimants lived), but also against more than 30 other Council of Europe states, including the UK.