Event Description

On 9 April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights decided its first ever climate cases: Verein Klimaseniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland, Carême v. France, and Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Others. In these landmark cases plaintiffs sued 33 European governments, including the entire European Union, for their failure to adequately curb greenhouse gas emissions. The Court held in Verein KlimaSeniorinnen v. Switzerland that government inaction can violate human rights, while it rejected the latter two cases as inadmissible. These rulings will shape Europe’s response to climate change and are expected to inspire future climate litigation across the globe.

A panel discussion, featuring Aminta Ossom, Angela Hefti, and Tyler Giannini, explored what these cases mean for climate mitigation in Europe and beyond. The panel was moderated by Jessie Hsia LLM ‘24.

Panelists 

More information on the event schedule and panelists can be found here. 

Cosponsored by the the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, the HLS Human Rights Entrepreneurs and Incubator Clinic, the Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, the Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World, and the HLS Advocates for Human Rights.