Youth4climatejustice

Landmark ruling: Court rules climate inaction is a human rights violation

Case Summary

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its judgments in landmark climate cases, including GLAN’s Youth4ClimateJustice case (Duarte Agostinho and Others v. 32 Member States).

Learn more about the case and the young people who brought the challenge: Portuguese Youth Climate Case v 32 Countries – Portuguese young people versus 33 countries
The ECtHR held that our case was inadmissible but issued a landmark ruling in a case brought by a group of Senior Swiss Women against Switzerland, which was linked to ours. Its ruling is unequivocal that government failure to rapidly cut emissions is a violation of human rights. This sets a historic precedent that applies to all European countries requiring them to urgently revise their targets so they are aligned to 1.5 degrees. This is a massive win for all generations!

Case background

Duarte Agostinho and Others v Portugal and 31 Other States, also known as the Youth4Climate case. After witnessing devastating forest fires and experiencing ever-worsening heatwaves, six Portuguese young people decided to act. They argued in a groundbreaking case that countries bound by the European Convention on Human Rights (the EU states, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Russia and Turkey) had infringed on their human rights as the extreme weather caused by climate inaction was putting their health at serious risk, and resulted in the closing of their schools, depriving them of education. The case is simple: time is rapidly running out to safeguard their futures. European governments have a legal duty to take far more radical and urgent action to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

Case documents and more

More information and case documents can be found on the Youth4Climate microsite here.

Case Timeline

September 2020

Youth4Climate activists launch unprecedented case against over 30 European countries in the European Court of Human Rights.

October 2020

ECtHR fast-tracks the case based on the “importance and urgency of the issues raised

February 2021

ECtHR refuses Respondent States’ joint request to overturn fast-tracking of case and to allow them to confine their initial arguments to the “inadmissibility” of the case.

May 2021

Multiple supportive “Third Party Interventions” are filed, including by Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Save the Children and the European Commissioner for Human Rights.

August 2021 - June 2022

Exchange of written arguments between youth-Applicants and Respondent States.

June 2022

ECtHR refers case to the 17-judge “Grand Chamber” which considers a tiny fraction of cases of exceptional importance.

June 2022 - March 2023

Further exchange of written arguments between youth-Applicants and Respondent States.

29 March 2023

Hearing takes place in the two other climate cases before the Grand Chamber: KlimaSeniorinnen v Switzerland and Carême v France

April 2023

Court announces hearing to take place in September 2023.

27 September 2023

The hearing takes place in Strasbourg at the European Court of Human Rights.

9 April 2024

The court delivers its ruling on our case, as well as KlimaSeniorinnen v Switzerland & Carême v France at the court in Strasbourg.

In a landmark ruling court declares climate inaction is a human rights violation.

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