According to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Switzerland has not complied with the Paris Climate Agreement. However, the judgement does not only apply to Switzerland, according to Swiss ECHR judge Andreas Zünd.
This content was published on
3 minutes
Keystone-SDA
The decision is a landmark judgement for all member states of the Council of Europe, Zünd told Swiss Public Radio SRF on Friday morning. The impetus for the judgement simply came from Switzerland with the elderly women’s group Swiss Climate Seniors Association.
The Swiss ECHR judge said that the Paris Climate Agreement had been decisive for the decision. Its contents were part of Swiss law because the agreement had been ratified by Switzerland. “In our opinion, Switzerland does not fulfil the agreement,” said Zünd.
No interference in climate policy
The court does not prescribe how exactly Switzerland should fulfil the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. “The means are subject to democratic debate,” said Zünd, referring to the judgement. The court does not intervene in the political process. It is now up to Switzerland to decide how politicians want to implement the judgement.
Zünd was also responding to the criticism that judges should not pursue climate policy, which arose from the Swiss People’s Party, Centre Party and Radical-Liberals after the ruling. The Radical-Liberals, for example, accused the court of not understanding Swiss democracy. The Liberal Greens, Greens and Social Democrats saw their demands confirmed. The Social Democrats interpreted the judgement as a slap in the face for the Federal Council.
Delayed damage
When asked why climate protection is an enforceable human right, Zünd replied: “We were guided by the Convention on Human Rights.” Two articles would have allowed a reference to climate change: The right to life and the right to privacy. The latter also includes physical well-being, Zünd said.
It was becoming apparent that climate change would severely affect people’s well-being and could even lead to death. “Climate change poses a new challenge because the damage is not immediate,” said the judge.
Adapted from German by DeepL/kc/ac
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Living longer: What do you think about the longevity trend?
The longevity market is booming thanks in part to advances in the science of ageing. What do you think of the idea of significantly extending human lifespan?
Glacier collapses burying large parts of Swiss village Blatten
This content was published on
A gigantic avalanche of ice, mud and debris has buried a large part of the village of Blatten after a major glacier collapsed.
Swiss government seeks better labour integration of Ukrainian refugees
This content was published on
The Swiss government has now set a goal of 50% of Ukrainian refugees to be in employment by the end of 2025, compared with 38% at present.
Swiss government greenlights Ruag sale of Leopard tanks to Germany
This content was published on
The defence company Ruag MRO is allowed to sell 71 Leopard 1 battle tanks to Germany. However, the tanks may not be sold to Ukraine.
Foie gras sold in Switzerland must declare painful production process
This content was published on
Starting July 1, the sale of foie gras in Switzerland must make reference to the painful procedures performed on the animal.
Swiss economics minister seeks progress on US tariff negotiations by July
This content was published on
Swiss Economics Minister Guy Parmelin is hoping for results in the tariff negotiations with the US by the beginning of July.
UN weather agency expects new temperature record soon
This content was published on
A new global temperature record is likely to be set in the next five years, according to the World Meteorological Organisation in Geneva.
Geneva proposed as possible site for Ukraine-Russia talks
This content was published on
US special representative for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has said that Geneva is being considered as a venue for talks between Russia and Ukraine.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.