- Title: Elderly Swiss women bring European court's first climate case
- Date: 29th March 2023
- Summary: STRASBOURG, FRANCE (MARCH 29, 2023)(REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ELDERLY WOMEN FROM THE SENIOR WOMEN FOR CLIMATE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION CHANTING OUTSIDE THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS ELDERLY WOMEN HOLDING BANNERS (SOUNDBITE) (French) ANNE MAHRER, CO-PRESIDENT OF THE SENIOR WOMEN FOR CLIMATE PROJECTION, SAYING: "We are here because this is a historic day. For the first time the European Court of Human Rights will consider climate justice and fundamental rights to people's health and rights." VARIOUS OF MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION SENIOR WOMEN FOR CLIMATE PROTECTION AWAIT THE BEGINNING OF THEIR HEARING JUDGES ENTERING THE GRAND CHAMBER AT THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
- Embargoed: 12th April 2023 16:21
- Keywords: ECHR climate change climate law european court of human rights france public health seniors strasbourg switzerland
- Location: STRASBOURG, FRANCE AND EVOLENE, MORTERATSCH GLACIER AND BASEL, SWITZERLAND
- Reuters ID: LVA001097828032023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Thousands of elderly Swiss women have joined forces in a groundbreaking case that was heard at the European Court of Human Rights on Wednesday (March 29), arguing that their government's "woefully inadequate" efforts to fight global warming violate their human rights.
The first climate change case at the Strasbourg court has been brought by a group of Swiss female pensioners who claim that their country's inaction in the face of rising temperatures puts them at risk of dying during heatwaves.
The hearing in the court's top bench, the Grand Chamber, sets an important precedent since the women's lawyers are seeking an ambitious ruling that could force Bern to cut carbon dioxide emissions much faster than planned.
More than 100 supporters and climate activists from Greenpeace gathered outside the courtroom, holding banners and flowers.
They chanted "bravo" as each woman exited the court and blew bubbles and rang cow bells amid clapping and cheering.
Bruna Molinari, who is 81 and suffers from asthma which she says is aggravated by excessive heat, told Reuters she hoped the outcome would at least benefit generations to come.
"As a grandmother and mother, I think they have the right to have a climate that is better than the one we have," she said, coughing throughout.
Stefanie Brander, a member of the association Senior Women for Climate Protection, said she felt the government had underestimated the group until now.
"We were taken for old women who did not have a clear idea of the issues ... and I think that could now turn against them," she told Reuters outside the courtroom.
Switzerland is warming at more than twice the global rate and its glaciers are melting fast. Bern outlined a plan in 2021 to make deeper emissions cuts but voters rebuffed it as too burdensome.
However, King's Counsel Marc Willers said Switzerland said there were no excuses for the government's failing to protect the applicants rights.
The Swiss government, which twice won in domestic courts in a six-year legal battle, has argued that the case is inadmissible.
Bern's lawyer Alain Chablais told the court that any prescriptive measures issued by the court would represent an overreach, giving it a "quasi-legislative" role.
Eight other governments have joined the case.
One of them, Ireland, said on Wednesday there were "insuperable difficulties" with the applicants' case saying it was asking the court to bypass the democratic process.
The case has been fast-tracked and a verdict is due later this year.
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