Six young people take 32 countries to court over wildfires and heat waves
CNNSep 27, 2023
Six Portuguese citizens, including three siblings, are suing the governments of 32 European nations over a lack of sufficient action to tackle climate change.
Aged between 11 and 24, the six plaintiffs allege that the 27 EU countries, as well as the UK, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, and Turkey, have failed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to halt global warming at 1.5°C (2.7°F).
The legal action brought by six Portuguese youths is one of the largest underdog stories of our time — a decision in their favor would defy the odds in a way many could never have imagined. Regardless of the outcome, these six ambitious young people have shown that anyone can affect change in the world, irrespective of their age. While getting nearly all European nations to change their laws is a long shot, these young activists are proving that anything is possible.
This case has no legal basis; the European Court of Human Rights doesn't have jurisdiction over any country in this case except Portugal, since the plaintiffs are Portuguese citizens. Moreover, they haven't provided any evidence of specific damages climate change has caused to their lives or physical and mental well-being. It's juvenile to take governments to court to force climate action when administrations are already committed to tackling the threat of climate change as best they can.
There's a 50% chance that there will be at least 2.5˚C of global warming by 2100, according to the Metaculus prediction community.