It’s the story of a quartet of stubborn retirees, who became activists out of weariness in the face of the climate pusillanimity of their country’s leaders. Their anger transformed into a citizen movement of 2,500 people, crowned against all expectations by a resounding success before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (ECHR), which condemned Switzerland on Tuesday April 9 for violation of the European convention of human rights. For almost nine years since the proceedings lasted, and with all the mockery that they sometimes had to endure, the “elders for the climate” have had time to solidify their shell.
A few days before the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (ECHR), a vengeful text in the German-speaking press accused them, for example, of being “straw women used by Greenpeace extremists”a way perhaps of anticipating a judgment perceived as a justified slap for the Federal Council (government) in Berne by a third of the Swiss political class, and as a scandal for the rest.
Traveling to Vienna to visit her Austrian counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen, the current President of the Confederation, Viola Amherd (The Centre), said she “surprised by the judgment. Sustainability, biodiversity and net zero [émission de gaz à effet de serre] are very important for [notre] country. » Embarrassed by this decision, which unexpectedly exposes a form of climate passivity on the part of the authorities, she added “impatiently awaiting the findings of the European Court’s judgment.”
In the European average
On the political scene, reactions are much more clear-cut. On the left, the Greens are delighted to see Switzerland wiping away the plaster of this new jurisprudence on a continent-wide scale. Their new president, Geneva-based Lisa Mazzone, talks about “a victory as important as the Paris Climate Agreement. The ECHR’s decision is a historic marker which establishes a fundamental right to a healthy environment; it is now up to the State to protect this right. »
Concretely, Switzerland will now have to ensure that the actions of its climate policy correspond to the objectives set, which is far from being the case today. In his Climate Performance Index 2024which measures the efforts of each State in the face of the climate emergency, the German organization Germanwatch ranks the Confederation at 21e rank only. It is certainly within the European average, but behind Germany (14e), Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) and other more distant nations which have accelerated their transition by focusing on renewable energies. The deployment of these in Switzerland is made extremely difficult by the right of opposition, which begins at the municipal level. “A country this rich and developed, with the best schools and technologies, has no more excuses. He must set an example, position himself as a pioneer rather than simply vegetating in the middle of the table”argues Raphaël Mahaim, one of the five lawyers who brought the caseElders for the Climate association before the ECHR. And, for the one who is also a Green deputy for the canton of Vaud in the Swiss parliament, “If Switzerland doesn’t succeed, who will? »
You have 36.09% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.