Over 2,000 elderly women are taking the Swiss government to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for allegedly doing nothing to stop climate change, which amounts to a violation of the government’s mandate to protect life and citizens’ homes and families.
Attaching their medical records as evidence, the association of elderly women who identify themselves as the “Club of Climate Seniors,” said climate change is putting their human rights, their health and even their lives at risk.
One of the women, Elisabeth Stern, said: “Due to climate change, we have more heatwaves and older women suffer more. They die more often during these heatwaves than they otherwise would.
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“Some people say, why are you complaining, you’re going to die anyway. But we don’t want to die just because our Swiss government has not been successful in coming up with a decent climate policy.”
The case is the first time the ECHR will hear a case on the impact of climate change on human rights.
If the women succeed, the case could set a precedent for every one of the European court’s 46 member states.
Story was adapted from BBC
