![]() ![]() Climate change action, it says, is ultimately a matter for politicians to deal with. However, it argues that its emissions cannot be directly linked to the health of older women, and maintains that its existing targets are sufficient. In its response, the Swiss government accepts the reality of climate change and the dangers it poses. It comes as no surprise that the Swiss government has called for the European Court of Human Rights to dismiss the case, arguing the lawsuit is “manifestly ill-founded.” “With this case, we want to help spur politicians into action a little bit.” Lore Zablonier, a 78-year-old from Zurich, who was outside court on Wednesday, said to Associated Press, “We are suing for our human right to life. Other women, who are part of the lawsuit, also complain that they have been suffering from shortness of breath, asthma, nausea and even spells of unconsciousness owing to the heatwaves. But we don’t want to die just because our Swiss government has not been successful in coming up with a decent climate policy.”īritish lawyer Jessica Simor KC, who is representing the women, told the court, according to a report in The Guardian, that her clients were already witnessing negative effects of climate and this is an “extreme threat to not just their health but to their very existence”. ![]() “Some people say, why are you complaining, you’re going to die anyway. A group from the Senior Women for Climate Protection association hold banners outside the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. They die more often during these heatwaves than they otherwise would. Why do I fight? Because it’s only going to get worse and, if the government is as languid as it is now, it won’t sort itself out,” she said, describing Swiss action to date as “shameful”.Īnother woman, part of KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz, Elisabeth Stern said to BBC, “Due to climate change, we have more heatwaves and older women suffer more. In an interview to Reuters, she said, “I am fighting for my life and for my quality of life. She said that the extreme weather compelled her to stay at home for 11 weeks with just short outings which she says was worse than COVID-19 and a violation of her human rights.Īlso read: How heatwave affects your mental health These two Articles protect the right to life and the right to respect for private and family life.Įighty-five-year-old Marie-Eve Volkoff, one of the women who is part of the lawsuit, said that she was stuck inside her small flat in Geneva last summer because of Switzerland’s punishing triple heatwaves. In court they are presenting evidence that climate change impacts health, especially of women, and that Switzerland is in breach of Articles 2 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The group argues that Switzerland isn’t doing enough on climate protection and that the country’s climate policy is “clearly inadequate” for the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. A group of Swiss women over the age of 64 known as the KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz (Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland) have filed the case in the European Court of Human Rights stating that the country’s climate policies are putting their health - and human rights - at risk.
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