Activist Greta Thunberg and 600 young people are suing Sweden for climate action
Greta Thunberg (C) reacts during a climate demonstration in Stockholm on Friday. AFP
More than 600 young people in Sweden, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, on Friday filed a lawsuit against the Swedish state accusing it of climate action, a first in the country.
Just over 600 young people under the age of 26 signed the 87-page long document that forms the basis of the lawsuit filed in the Stockholm District Court. They want the court to establish that the country has violated the human rights of its citizens with its climate policy.
“Sweden has never treated the climate crisis as a crisis,” said Anton Foley, spokesman for the youth-led initiative Aurora, which prepared and filed the lawsuit. “Sweden fails in its responsibility and breaks the law.”
– There has never been such an extensive case in the Swedish legal system, says Ida Edling, member of the organization behind the trial, Aurora.
Participants march during a climate demonstration in Stockholm. AFP
The move comes as scientists warn that chances are fading to limit future warming to 1.5˚C since pre-industrial times. At a recent UN climate conference in Egypt earlier this month, leaders tried to keep that goal alive but stopped short of calling for cuts to carbon emissions.
The legal action, which has been ongoing for two years, comes at the same time as Sweden’s new right-wing government faces increasing criticism for weak climate targets.
Moa Widmark, a 19-year-old student, said she took part in Friday’s demonstration because “the climate crisis is worrying and scary – we are heading for a disaster.”
While the lawsuit is the first in Swedish courts, six Portuguese youths have taken Sweden and 32 other countries to the European Court of Human Rights, accusing them of failing to address the climate crisis.
“If we win, there will be a judgment that says the Swedish state is obliged to do its part of the global measures needed for the world to meet the 1.5 degree target,” said Edling.
TV4 said the government declined to comment on pending legal action.
Climate activists have launched numerous lawsuits against governments and companies in recent years, with mixed success.
In recent years, a growing number of organizations and citizens have turned to the courts to criticize what they claim is government inaction on the climate issue.
In December 2019, the Dutch Supreme Court ordered the government to reduce greenhouse gases by at least 25 percent by 2020, in a landmark case brought by an environmental group.
In a similar case in France, more than two million citizens took the French state to court for failing to act on climate change.
In a report published earlier this week, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute said the average temperature in Sweden had risen almost 2˚C since the end of the 19th century, twice as fast as the global average. Snow cover now lasts two weeks less, while precipitation has increased.
Agencies