European Court of Human Rights hears climate cases for the first time

The European Court of Human Rights will consider climate cases for the first time in its history. On Wednesday, the judges hear two cases, claiming that Switzerland and France are not doing enough to tackle climate change.

The Swiss case concerns a group of elderly Swiss women who are suing over the impact of climate change on their health. They argue that the Swiss government's flawed climate policy violates several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, mainly the article guaranteeing the right to life.

The French case was brought by a former mayor of a municipality threatened by rising sea levels. In 2019, he went to the Council of State to denounce the "climate non-policy" that threatens to flood his municipality. He now argues that France's "failure" on climate targets affects him directly as it "increases the risk of his domicile being affected".

The European Court's rulings are not expected for several months.

^{© FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP}