Amsterdam, Netherlands – Greenpeace International slammed Switzerland’s newly unveiled National Action Report as woefully inadequate to remedy violations found in the landmark ruling in the KlimaSeniorinnen case by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The Report claims that Switzerland can continue with its planned climate strategy, including emitting more than its fair share of global emissions, jeopardising current and future generations. 

Louise Fournier, Legal Counsel at Greenpeace International said: “As we examine the Swiss action report, one thing is obvious: this is woefully insufficient. Switzerland’s climate policies continue to be inadequate and fail to meet the demands of both the science and the law. They allow Switzerland, a small country that already emits disproportionately high levels of greenhouse gases in relation to its population size, to pollute far more than it should, avoiding its responsibility to current and future generations.”

In April 2024, in a world first, the ECtHR ruled that a country’s inadequate climate policies violate human rights. Switzerland was ordered to realign its emissions and establish a carbon budget in line with 1.5°C.[1] Last week, however, Switzerland presented its “Action Report” to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, claiming it already complies with the ruling[2]. 

Greenpeace argues that the Swiss government deliberately disregards the science and the human rights impacts of its climate policies. Switzerland’s Action Report merely reiterates pre-existing climate plans, criticising the ECtHR judgement while presenting a CO2 budget that reflects allowable emissions under its current trajectory without addressing whether these levels are compatible with the 1.5°C limit. In refusing to adapt its climate policies to comply with the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling, Switzerland knowingly infringes on people’s human rights and is shaping its climate policy at the expense of present and future generations, says the campaign group. 

Greenpeace International is now urging the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to ensure that Switzerland takes the judgement of the highest European human rights court seriously and enacts a plan that actually reduces greenhouse gas emissions based on the best available science.

ENDS

Notes:

[1] Press release: Victory for Swiss senior women as climate protection ruled a human right

[2] The Committee of Ministers oversees the execution of ECtHR judgments. States are required to submit an “action plan” or “action report” detailing their intended measures within six months after the ruling, which for Switzerland is today October 9. The Swiss National Action Report, submitted by the Swiss authorities on 4 October and published on 08 October 2024, is available here on the Council of Europe’s’s website.

[3] Since the April 2024 ruling, the KlimaSeniorinnen case has rapidly reshaped climate law, cited in at least 10 cases worldwide, and influencing legal strategies in international courts such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The decision is also being used to hold governments accountable for protecting vulnerable communities, such as Indigenous Peoples groups and people with health conditions and future generations exacerbated by the climate emergency.

Contacts:

Greenpeace Switzerland: Georg Klingler, Climate Expert at Greenpeace Switzerland, 079 785 07 38, [email protected]

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), [email protected]. Follow @greenpeacepress for our latest international press releases.

Note: this post was edited on 09 October 2024 to reflect that the action report was submitted by the Swiss authorities on 4 October and published on 08 October 2024; and that the action report has been published on the website of the Council of Europe, which supervises the implementation of ECHR judgments, rather than the Court itself.