A group of Swiss retirees took their government to a top European court Wednesday over what they claim is its failure to take sufficient action on climate change.
Lawyers and members of the group Senior Women for Climate Protection appeared before the European Court of Human Rights for a rare public hearing that activists say could mark a legal milestone in efforts to force governments to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
“It’s been proved that we older women are particularly sensitive ,” said plaintiff Rosmarie Wydler-Waelti, 73, from Basel. “We get sick a little bit faster due to heat waves than older men or other groups.” “We are suing for our human right to life,” said Lore Zablonier, a 78-year-old from Zurich who stood outside the court. “With this case, we want to help spur politicians into action a little bit.”“The plaintiffs are not sufficiently affected with the required intensity in their right to life for the application to be admissible,” said Alain Chablais, who represented the Swiss government at the hearing.
Georg Klingler, a climate campaigner with the environmental group Greenpeace that supports the case, said seeing the Swiss government having to defend its climate efforts before the court “is a very exciting moment.”
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