Hyear the six Portuguese boys were aged between 11 and 24 who today, 27 September, will appear before the European Court of Human Rights. They will do so to hold the governments to account failure to meet climate commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement and to try to convince them to accelerate their commitments and reduce their CO2 emissions. The climate crisis has those responsible who must intervene.
Climate crisis, six young people before the European Court
The hearing awaited for several years is the largest climate legal action ever undertaken to date and ever brought before the Court: in 2017 the hinterland of Portugal is on fire like never before. Forest fires cause one hundred and fifteen deaths and one billion euros in damage. Shocked by the terrible ecological crisis, André (15 years old), Catarina (23 years old), Cláudia (24 years old), Mariana (11 years old), Martim (20 years old) and Sofia (18 years old) decide to sue several European countries for climate default.
Few adequate measures
The six young people therefore maintain that 32 European countries are not taking adequate measures to keep the increase in global warming below the threshold of + 1.5°C as required by the commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement. They also argue that countries’ inertia threatens their rights to life and a healthy and protected environment, as guaranteed by European legislation.
The largest climate legal action ever taken to date
The case was filed in September 2020 and at the time was the first climate change action brought before the European Court of Human Rights. If there was a positive outcome, countries will be legally bound to take greater action to address the climate crisis.
The rights of young people are violated by governments’ inertia on the climate
André dos Santos Oliveira, the spokesperson of this 15-year-old campaign, declared at the presentation press conference: «European governments are failing and not protecting us. All of Europe is experiencing tremendous climate impacts. In Portugal this summer we have experienced increasing heat waves. Which are limiting our ability to decide about our lives freely.”
And the children’s lawyers, in fact, will bring evidence to support the fact that the current policies adopted by the 32 countries reported they are violating the rights of the subjects represented. In particular, lawyers argue, governments’ lack of climate action is violating young people’s health rights, making it difficult to study and denying them the opportunity to conduct normal outdoor activities.
Climate crisis, a threat to be stopped
Recent research by Save the Children shows that a child born in 2020 will experience almost seven times more heat waves on average over the course of his life compared to his grandparents’ generation. For this reason, attention must be focused more on the rights of children who must be protected immediately, given the systemic threat represented by climate change and the serious repercussions on all of them, in particular on those affected by inequalities and discrimination.
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