Switzerland Must Update Climate Policy
KlimaSeniornnen, the Swiss environmental organization for older women, protesting for stricter climate regulations (Wikimedia Commons).
The Council of Europe, Europe’s leading human rights organization, has recently ordered the Swiss government to revise its climate change reduction policies and to be more proactive in its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The directive is an attempt by the council to ensure that Switzerland complies with a landmark ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
In 2022, an organization of senior women fighting to stop climate change, called KlimaSeniorinnen, sued the Swiss government on the grounds that it was violating their human rights by failing to prevent climate change and its effects. The women argued that, due to their age and gender, they were more vulnerable to the increasingly severe heat waves caused by greenhouse gas emissions—recent scientific studies have shown that older women are more likely to be negatively affected by hotter temperatures and could be more likely to die as a result. As the case had failed in the national court system, the organization brought it before the ECHR, an international court that rules on cases concerning the European Convention on Human Rights.
After hearing the case in 2023, the court ruled in favor of KlimaSeniornnen on April 9, 2024. The court stated that Switzerland was obligated to protect its citizens from the adverse effects of climate change and that the state failed to implement a plan to limit its emission of carbon and other greenhouse gases in a timely manner. By failing to do so, the state had consequently violated the rights of the members of KlimaSeniornnen. This decision was the first time the court had ruled on the effects of climate change and whether or not a state could be held responsible for failing to address the climate crisis properly.
The Swiss government protested the ruling and has yet to update its climate policy to comply with it. Two months after the court had ordered the Swiss government to enact a more comprehensive climate policy, the Swiss parliament voted to reject the court’s decision in June of 2024, calling it “judicial activism.” The parliament justified this decision by claiming that the Swiss government’s current strategy to combat global warming was sufficient. Several Swiss lawmakers have expressed personal dissatisfaction with the ruling, that it is an “interference” with the government. In addition, the lawmakers criticized the foundation of KlimaSeniornnen’s argument and portrayed the organization’s health concerns due to heat waves as “being a bit too hot in the summer.”
Switzerland currently has a “long-term climate strategy to 2050” that outlines how the country will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. The plan, which was adopted by the government in January 2021, includes the CO2 Act, which established a climate fund and laid out the government’s strategy to reduce carbon emissions. The government also submitted an “action report” in October 2024 to the Council of Europe, which outlined what the country was currently doing. However, according to the Council, the government was supposed to submit an action plan, not a report, as their current actions are inadequate.
While the Council of Europe has acknowledged the CO2 Act and its recent revisions, it has requested more information regarding how and by how much the Swiss government will limit its output of CO2. The Council has also requested a plan on how Switzerland will keep its most vulnerable citizens safe during heat waves and other severe weather events. KlimaSeniornnen’s co-president, Rosmarie Wydler-Wälti, has expressed her pleasure with the decisions, telling the Swiss federal government to “finally take decisive action against the climate crisis.”
Switzerland has until September 2025 to give more information to the council and update its current plan to fight climate change. The Swiss federal government has released a statement that they would further examine the council’s orders but appeared willing to cooperate, stating that “the aim is to demonstrate that Switzerland is complying with the climate policy requirements of the ruling.” However, as the parliament’s actions over the summer have shown, not all members of the federal government are willing to cooperate. Failing to comply with the ECHR decisions would be unprecedented and have serious ramifications across Europe, undermining the continent’s international legal system and agreements on climate change. Thus, all eyes will be on Switzerland to see how they proceed.