This month, six Portuguese teenagers took 32 countries to the European Court of Human Rights for not doing enough to stop global warming, the latest attempt to secure climate justice through the courts. The move comes amid massive forest fires that hit Portugal in 2017, killing more than 100 people and burning large parts of the country.

Young people, aged between 11 and 24, say they have health problems and “have to live in an increasingly hot climate” due to natural disasters. Some argue that if the planet continues to warm, allergies and respiratory problems will pose a conservation risk, both during and after fires. Underlining the potential impact of the case in forcing countries to take action, the Grand Chamber in Strasbourg will hear arguments on 27 September, a date reserved for exceptional circumstances.

Young people claim that excessive carbon emissions specifically violate the right to life and the right to respect for private and family life.

“This is truly a David and Goliath case,” said Jeróid O Quinn, director of the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), which supports young people’s causes. “Never before have so many countries had to defend themselves before any court anywhere in the world,” he said.

Activists are increasingly turning to the courts to force governments to do more to combat climate change, amid warnings that the world is falling short of the 2015 Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above mid-19th century levels. In August, a court in the US state of Montana ruled in favor of a group of young people who accused him of violating their rights to a clean environment.

“Game changer”

The ECHR’s decision in favor of the plaintiffs within a few months is expected to be binding on the 46 member states of the Council of Europe and potentially set a precedent in climate cases. GLAN lawyer Gerry Liston, who helps young people, said countries needed to “rapidly step up climate mitigation efforts”.

“From a legal perspective, that would make a difference.”

However, since Portuguese young people apply directly to the ECHR without going to national courts, the court will first decide on the admissibility of the case. They argue it would be an “excessive and disproportionate burden” to try to bring individual lawsuits across all 32 countries on an issue that requires urgent attention. A source at the ECHR confirmed that this was a “unique case” in terms of the number of countries targeted by a single complaint.

The Court has not previously ruled on its members’ climate change obligations. Young people say governments are contributing to rising temperatures, particularly through carbon dioxide emissions, which are causing heatwaves and wildfires in their countries.

“Governments all over the world have the power to stop this, but European governments choose not to,” said Catarina Santos Mota, one of the young Portuguese.

In March, the ECHR heard two more climate cases involving France and Switzerland, but no decision has been made yet. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the number of legal cases worldwide related to climate issues will double between 2017 and 2022. Source