March 29, 2023
NEW YORK (US) / STRASBOURG (FR) – Today, two critical developments at international institutions are advancing efforts to clarify and enforce states’ human rights obligations in the face of climate change. One is the first-ever public hearings at the European Court of Human Rights on climate cases addressing the duty of states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including a case brought by the Swiss Senior Women for Climate Protection against Switzerland. The other is the historic adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of a resolution calling upon the world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, to issue an opinion on state legal responsibilities to protect the climate system for present and future generations and the consequences of failing to do so. The unanimous resolution, which enjoyed widespread support from over 120 co-sponsoring countries, was spearheaded through an initiative by the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu and a youth-driven campaign.
These advances come just ten days after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the Sixth Synthesis Report, which unequivocally shows that world leaders have — so far — utterly failed to take sufficient action to protect people and the planet from the accelerating climate crisis.
Despite decades of international climate negotiations and undeniable scientific evidence, States continue to prop up and lock-in dependence on fossil fuels — the main driver of the climate crisis. Impacted communities across the globe are finding themselves with few alternatives but to resort to courts in their pursuit of clear rules to guide State climate action and hold States accountable for their failures.
Sébastien Duyck, CIEL’s Human Rights and Climate Campaign Manager:
“Today’s public hearings at the European Court of Human Rights are a pivotal moment in the fight against climate change. They indicate that a government’s climate action may be subject to judicial review by the European Court on the basis of existing climate obligations. Governments and civil society organizations around the world are monitoring these cases closely. They have the potential to set an influential legal precedent that would further confirm that States must take more adequate action against climate change as a matter of their human rights obligations.”
Nikki Reisch, Director of CIEL’s Climate and Energy Program:
“The milestones reached today affirm the power of community-driven, people-centered campaigns for climate justice and accountability. They also reinforce the critical role of courts in breaking through the inertia when politics break down. Both the hearings at the European Court and the resolution at the United Nations mark important steps toward clarifying what existing law requires states to do to curb climate change and protect human rights. Courts can translate the clear scientific evidence that fossil fuels are driving the climate crisis into clear legal imperatives to phase them out now and implement proven available solutions. They also can – and indeed must – hold states accountable for the mounting suffering caused by their failure to act.”
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Press contact: Niccolo Sarno | press@ciel.org
Notes to editors:
More information on the Vanuatu ICJ Initiative at the UN General Assembly: www.vanuatuicj.com/
More information on the public hearings at the European Court of Human Rights: www.greenpeace.ch/de/medienmitteilung/92178/public-hearing-on-landmark-climate-case-at-european-court-of-human-rights/