Greta Thunberg joins in March as activists sue Sweden over its climate policy
Hundreds of activists, among them Greta Thunbergmarched through the Swedish capital to a court on Friday to file a lawsuit against the Swedish state for what they say is inadequate climate measures.
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.”
The move comes as scientists warn that chances are fading to limit future warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit since pre-industrial times.
At a recent UN climate conference in Egypt earlier this month, leaders tried to keep that goal alive but did not set demands to reduce carbon emissions.
Another activist, Ida Edling, said that Sweden “conducts a climate policy and the research is very clear will contribute to a climate disaster in the future.”
Sweden’s Riksdag decided in 2017 that by 2045 the Scandinavian country should have zero net emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and have 100% renewable energy.
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 one of the most high-profile cases, Germany’s highest court ruled last year that the government had to adjust its climate targets to avoid burdening the young unnecessarily.
The German government responded by moving forward its “net zero” emissions goal by five years to 2045 and taking more ambitious steps in the short and medium term to achieve this goal.