The young Portuguese, who has sued 33 countries, including Switzerland, with the European Court of Human Rights over their supposed inaction against global warming, on Wednesday called for “real actions” and “more ambitious” policies. The case is scheduled to be heard on September 27.
This volume represents hope. This means that governments must hear everyone’s voice […] Things really have to change. We need real political action. “This is the most important thing,” said Andre, 14, during an online press conference with three other young men.
In all, six Portuguese between the ages of 10 and 23 sued their country before the court in Strasbourg, along with 32 others, over their supposed climate inaction, a case involving greenhouse gas emissions from 33 countries that will be involved in global warming. Referenced in 2020 European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
The target countries are the 27 member states of the European Union plus Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Norway and the United Kingdom.
Elders for Climate
The European Court of Human Rights, which had already heard the climate case for the first time at the end of March in two cases involving France and Switzerland, will hear this new case on September 27.
Andre’s older sister, who lives with her in Lisbon, added 17-year-old Sofia, if the court, which is not going to issue its decision for several months, “will give us hope.”
She insisted, “The world cannot be changed so quickly, but if people and governments start to act, they can change it faster.”
“The victory means a lot,” said Claudia, 23, from Leiria (central Portugal). We hope that by bringing attention to this issue, governments will start to do what they need to do […] For a better future, this is the main reason we do this.
The six young people, who submitted their application in September 2020, are being supported by the UK NGO’s Global Legal Action Network (GLAN). According to her, this is the “largest experiment” on issues related to global warming.
/ ATS
