‘A win for all generations’ as Swiss grannies win landmark climate case while youth activists instructed take issue to national courts

Rosmarie Wyder-Walti and Anne Mahrer, of the Swiss elderly women group Senior Women for Climate Protection, attend the hearing of the court in Strasbourg. Photo: Christian Hartmann/Reuters

Caroline O'Doherty

The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a case by six young people who took Ireland and 32 other countries to court over their climate-action failures.

In a unanimous decision, the judges said while climate change was a collective issue, the case needed to be fought in national courts first before the European court could get involved.