Young climate activists took center stage again on Wednesday, as the European Court of Human Rights heard a case brought by six Portuguese youth, ranging in age from 11 to 24, who argued that Europe’s governments aren’t doing enough to prevent climate change from harming them. It is one of the most ambitious legal efforts yet to force action on climate change and, if successful, could have legally binding consequences.
“We’ve had a packed court,” said Gearóid Ó’Cuinn, director of Global Legal Action Network, or GLAN, a human rights nonprofit that is supporting the Portuguese applicants. In the statement, he also noted that there were more than 80 lawyers representing 32 countries at the hearing, including all European Union member states, along with the United Kingdom, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, and Turkey.
The young people are suing because they argue that governmental failure to adequately curb the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change is a violation of their fundamental rights. “’It’s well within their power to do much, mu... Read more
