Six Portuguese youths suing 32 countries over inaction on climate change

Six young individuals from Portugal have taken legal action against a group of 32 governments, which includes all European Union member nations, the United Kingdom, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, and Turkey. Their claim is based on the assertion that these countries have not taken adequate measures to address climate change and have failed to sufficiently reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Paris Agreement’s objective of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Claudia Duarte Agostinho, 24, one of the complainant, vividly recalls the intense heatwave and wildfires that struck Portugal in 2017, taking more than 100 lives. “I felt pure fear,” she says. “Those wildfires made me deeply anxious about the future that awaited me.” This landmark case, the first of its kind, has been filed in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. If successful, it could hold legally binding consequences for the implicated governments, with the initial hearing scheduled for later today. The six claimants, ranging in age from 11 to 24, assert that the recurrent forest fires in Portugal since 2017 are a direct consequence of global warming. They argue that their fundamental human rights, including the right to life, privacy, family life, and freedom from discrimination, are being infringed upon due to governments’ reluctance to combat climate change. These young individuals describe experiencing significant impacts, primarily due to extreme temperatures in Portugal that force them indoors, limiting their ability to sleep, concentrate, or engage in physical activities. Some also suffer from eco-anxiety, allergies, and respiratory conditions like asthma. Crucially, none of these young applicants seeks financial compensation. Eleven-year-old Mariana articulates her motivation, saying, “I desire a green world without pollution, I wish to be healthy. I’m part of this case because I am truly concerned about my future. I am afraid of how our home will be.” Claudia reveals that Mariana still experiences fear when she hears helicopters overhead, as they remind her of the firefighters battling the 2017 wildfires that devoured vast swathes of forest, with ashes falling miles away from their home. Claudia commends Mariana’s conscientiousness at her age but is troubled that she must contemplate these concerns when she should be enjoying time with friends and dancing to TikTok videos. The legal representatives for the six young claimants plan to argue that the current policies of the 32 governments could lead to a catastrophic 3 degrees Celsius of global warming by the end of this century. Gearóid Ó Cuinn, the director of the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) supporting the applicants, warns of the severe heat extremes that await them if governments do not take urgent action. A 2021 Lancet study involving 10,000 children and young people from 10 countries worldwide found that climate anxiety and dissatisfaction with government responses to climate change were widespread and negatively impacted their daily lives. The study suggested that perceived government failures in addressing the climate crisis were associated with increased distress. In their responses to the case, the governments argue that the claimants have not sufficiently demonstrated that they have suffered directly due to climate change or the Portuguese wildfires. They maintain that there is no immediate evidence to suggest climate change poses a risk to human life or health, and they also argue that climate policy falls outside the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights.