Climate change inaction violated women’s human rights, ECHR rules

The European Court of Human Rights has made a landmark ruling that governments have a duty to protect people from climate change.

In a case brought by a group of elderly Swiss women, the Strasbourg judges ruled that Switzerland was not doing enough to tackle climate change.

The ruling is binding and can trickle down to influence the law in 46 countries in Europe including the UK. The court found that the Swiss state had violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the “right to respect for private and family life.”