Climate Grannies to the Rescue: Why a group of senior women in Switzerland is suing its government

Residents of countries often take their government to court over various issues — a trampling of their rights, or civil liberties at risk. However, in Switzerland more than 2,000 women are taking the government to court over climate change.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in France’s Strasbourg on Wednesday began hearing a case brought forward by the Swiss senior citizens in which they have stated that their government’s inaction on climate change is violating their right to life and health. Incidentally, this is the first time that ECHR will hear such a case, which could set a precedent for every one of the European court’s 46 member states.

What is the case?

A group of Swiss women over the age of 64 known as the KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz (Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland) have filed the case in the European Court of Human Rights stating that the country’s climate policies are putting their health — and human rights — at risk.

The group argues that Switzerland isn’t doing enough on climate protection and that the country’s climate policy is “clearly inadequate” for the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

In court they are presenting evidence that climate change impacts health, especially of women, and that Switzerland is in breach of Articles 2 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. These two Articles protect the right to life and the right to respect for private and family life.

Eighty-five-year-old Marie-Eve Volkoff, one of the women who is part of the lawsuit, said that she was stuck inside her small flat in Geneva last summer because of Switzerland’s punishing triple heatwaves. She said that the extreme weather compelled her to stay at home for 11 weeks with just short outings which she says was worse than COVID-19 and a violation of her human rights.

Also read: How heatwave affects your mental health

In an interview to Reuters, she said, “I am fighting for my life and for my quality of life. Why do I fight? Because it’s only going to get worse and, if the government is as languid as it is now, it won’t sort itself out,” she said, describing Swiss action to date as “shameful”.

Another woman, part of KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz, Elisabeth Stern said to BBC, “Due to climate change, we have more heatwaves and older women suffer more. They die more often during these heatwaves than they otherwise would.

“Some people say, why are you complaining, you’re going to die anyway. But we don’t want to die just because our Swiss government has not been successful in coming up with a decent climate policy.”

British lawyer Jessica Simor KC, who is representing the women, told the court, according to a report in The Guardian, that her clients were already witnessing negative effects of climate and this is an “extreme threat to not just their health but to their very existence”.

Other women, who are part of the lawsuit, also complain that they have been suffering from shortness of breath, asthma, nausea and even spells of unconsciousness owing to the heatwaves.

Lore Zablonier, a 78-year-old from Zurich, who was outside court on Wednesday, said to Associated Press, “We are suing for our human right to life. “With this case, we want to help spur politicians into action a little bit.”

How has Switzerland reacted to the case?

It comes as no surprise that the Swiss government has called for the European Court of Human Rights to dismiss the case, arguing the lawsuit is “manifestly ill-founded.”

In its response, the Swiss government accepts the reality of climate change and the dangers it poses. However, it argues that its emissions cannot be directly linked to the health of older women, and maintains that its existing targets are sufficient. Climate change action, it says, is ultimately a matter for politicians to deal with.

What is the significance of this trial?

The women in the case believe that this trial is significant not only for them but also future generations as well as other countries. As Elisabeth Stern said, “It’s a historic moment.”

The women believe that the trial — the verdict will be announced later in the year — will set the precedent of whether climate protection is a human right. They believe that the outcome could have much wider ramifications.

If the court decides that climate protection is a human rights issue it will have an impact on the other 46 states of the European Council. Any of these countries could also file a complaint, refer back to that verdict and say they want the same. “They would almost legitimise the unsatisfactory climate path that Switzerland and of course many other countries are on,” Stern was quoted as saying to EuroNews.

This view was echoed by Corina Heri, a researcher at the Institute of Law of the University of Zurich. She told CNN, “This is the first time ever that the European Court of Human Rights is engaging with a climate case. It has issued no findings on this before. What the court decides on these questions will be defining for its other climate cases, and will send strong signals to courts all across the Council of Europe, and around the world.”

It would also give boost to the other climate lawsuits — around 2,000 in number — across the world.

How severe is climate change?

Climate change is a real danger to society and more so to the elderly population. The United Nations’ climate body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has stated that temperature rises must slow down if the world wants to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. They say global warming needs to be kept to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100.

The IPPC further stated that if the temperatures can’t be brought down, Europe would be vulnerable to flooding caused by extreme rainfall. Moreover, it could also increase the risk of wildfires as seen last summer — France and Germany recorded about seven times more land burnt between January and the middle of July 2022, compared with the average.

Also read: The countries most vulnerable to climate change: Where does India stand?

Moreover, the European Climate and Health Observatory found that in the past 20 years, heat-related mortality in people above the age of 65 in Europe had increased by more than 30 per cent.

Even the Alps is melting, which could be catastrophic for Switzerland and the world.

Hence, the outcome of this trial is being watched closely by all — after all, it’s a matter of life and death, if one believes the climate activists.

With inputs from agencies

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