Portuguese youths sue 32 European governments at EU court in largest climate case ever

• A little over three years ago, a group of Portuguese youths filed a legal action against 32 European governments to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over what they say is a failure to adequately tackle global heating.
• Now, the Strasbourg court will be hearing them on 27 September, in a novel, far-fetching bid to arm-twist them into taking climate action.

The claim

• Plaintiffs expressed their grave concern over governments’ insufficient efforts to limit global warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
• Were the rest of the world to mirror their commitments, the global temperature would hike by 2 to 3C, according to Climate Tracker.

Human rights to the rescue of climate justice

• Against a global backdrop of increasing climate litigation, the Duarte Agostinho application follows in the steps of other climate lawsuits to draw a clear link between human rights violations and climate change.
• The first to have blazed that trail was the Urgenda Foundation in 2015, whose legal action compelled the government to cut emissions by 25% from 1990 levels on the grounds of its applicants’ human rights.
• They also claim to suffer from anxiety after wildfires in Portugal in 2017 killed more than 120 people.
• Governments, they argue, have failed to comply with their positive obligations under Articles 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Right to life):
  “Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law.

Ushering in effective action

• To prevent this from happening again, young people will be banking on a range of principles from human rights, including that of effectiveness.
• According to this postulate, states cannot remain passive in the face of a violation of the rights of individuals.
• For the Court, this principle originally offered a guarantee that states would implement the positive obligations of protection required by the Convention.
• The latter orders parties to take action to prevent a provision from being violated, even in a context of uncertainty.

The European Court’s climate challenge

• The ECHR takes on average two years to reach a decision, though this period may vary depending on the complexity of the case.
• The question of the verdict’s impact on the continent’s climate justice also remains to be seen.
• However, it could sharpen States’ obligations in climate matters and respect for human rights.