Die Begründung eines Klimagrundrechts im EGMR-Urteil KlimaSeniorinnen

With its judgment in the case of Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and others v. Switzerland, the European Court of Human Rights has substantively taken position on a so-called climate lawsuit for the first time. In doing so, the Court not only stated important general principles on the role of the judiciary in the context of climate change, but also established procedural requirements for the admissibility of complaints from applicants and in particular applicant associations. Another essential part of the decision is the ascertainment that Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights »must be seen as encompassing a right for individuals to effective protection by the State authorities from serious adverse effects of climate change on their life, health, well-being and quality of life«. This right can be described as a fundamental climate right. It gives rise to positive obligations for the Contracting Parties to the Convention. To assess whether a state has remained within its margin of appreciation with regard to its obligations, the Court developed five criteria. These include, amongst others, the adoption of general measures specifying a target timeline for achieving carbon neutrality and the overall remaining carbon budget for the same time frame or another equivalent method of quantification of future greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the overarching goal for national and global climatechange mitigation commitments. Beyond all that, the judgment will most likely have a fortifying effect on the EU's climate policy.