Six young people have filed a lawsuit against 32 governments, including all European Union member states and the United Kingdom
Six young people from Portugal have filed a lawsuit against 32 governments, including all European Union member states, the United Kingdom, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey.
They accuse these countries of not taking sufficient measures concerning climate change and failing to sufficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
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This case is the first of its kind filed at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg.
If successful, it could have legally binding consequences for the governments involved, as reported by the BBC.
The first hearing in this case is scheduled for September 27.
Ages ranging from 11 to 24, the six plaintiffs argue that the forest fires occurring in Portugal every year since 2017 are a direct result of global warming.
They claim that their fundamental human rights, including the right to life, privacy, family life and freedom from discrimination, are violated due to the governments' reluctance to combat climate change.
They state that they have already faced significant impacts, particularly because of the extreme temperatures in Portugal, which force them to spend time indoors and limit their ability to sleep, concentrate or engage in physical activities.
Some of them also suffer from eco-anxiety, allergies and respiratory conditions, including asthma.
None of the young plaintiffs are seeking financial compensation.
"I want a green world without pollution; I want to be healthy", says 11-year-old Mariana. "I'm in this case because I'm very worried about my future. I'm afraid of what the place we live in will look like".
Claudia says that Mariana still gets scared when she hears helicopters flying above, which reminds her of the firefighters from 2017 when over 50,000 acres (78 square miles, 202 square kilometers) of forest were destroyed, and the ashes from the wildfires fell over their home miles away.
"I think it's really amazing for Mariana to be involved in this case, to have such awareness at her age", Claudia says.
"But it's also very worrying: Why does she have to think about these things? Instead, she should be playing with her friends and dancing on TikTok videos".
The lawyers representing the six young plaintiffs are expected to argue in court that the current policies of the 32 governments put the world on a path to global warming of 3°C by the end of the century.
"It's catastrophic warming" says Gearóid Ó Cuinn, director of the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), which supports the plaintiffs.
"Without urgent government action, the young plaintiffs involved in this case are facing unbearable extreme heat that will affect their health and well-being. We know that governments have the means to do much more to stop this, but they choose not to act", he says.
