Historic Legal Battle Begins in European Court of Human Rights Over Climate Crisis
On September 27, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will witness a historic legal battle between 32 European governments and six young people from Portugal aged 11 to 24. The plaintiffs argue that their governments have failed to take sufficient action against the climate crisis, violating their human rights and discriminating against young people globally.
The lawsuit, known as Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and Others, was filed in September 2020 following the devastating wildfires in Portugal’s Leiria region in 2017, which claimed the lives of almost 66 people and destroyed 20,000 hectares of forests. The young Portuguese plaintiffs claim that European nations have not met their climate emissions goals in line with the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to under 1.5°C. They argue that if every country continues at the current pace, global heating will rise to 3°C within their lifetime, endangering their fundamental rights protected under the European Convention on Human Rights, including the right to life, privacy, and freedom from discrimination.
The case has garnered significant attention due to its unprecedented scale and consequence. The Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) describes it as a David and Goliath case, with 32 countries having to defend themselves in front of any court in the world. The lawsuit is part of a larger trend in which young people are increasingly taking governments to court for their failure to address the climate crisis. According to the United Nations’s Global Climate Litigation Report, as of December 2022, 2,180 climate-related cases have been filed in 65 countries, with at least 34 cases brought by or on behalf of children and young people.
The governments involved have responded to the lawsuit in different ways. Some have rejected any connection between climate change and its impact on human health, while others have argued that they are on track to achieve their climate targets. For instance, Greece, despite experiencing devastating wildfires earlier this year, has maintained that the effects of climate change do not directly affect human life or health. The Portuguese and Irish governments dismissed the concerns as future fears without immediate evidence of risk.
The implications and legal validity of youth-led climate trials remain unclear. However, experts agree that these lawsuits are transforming the landscape of climate litigation, emphasizing the violation of fundamental rights and the endangerment of future generations. The outcome of the lawsuit in the European Court of Human Rights will have far-reaching implications for climate change governance and the responsibility of governments to protect the rights of young people.