Climate change and the right to privacy: what do these two have in common?

10/05/2024 - In a recent decision, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found that the Swiss government violated several provisions of the ECHR. In particular, the right to respect for private and family life from Article 8. According to the Court, Switzerland has failed in its duty to take effective measures against harmful effects of climate change. You can read what this violation has to do with the right to privacy in the following blog.

Background

A Swiss advocacy organization (KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz) and four individuals claim that the Swiss government is pursuing an inadequate climate policy and thereby violating human rights. After the Swiss national court rules that the complainants' right to life is insufficiently affected, they knock on the ECHR's door with their complaint. The association is declared admissible, and the Court reviews the women's complaint under Article 8 ECHR.

To what extent is the right to respect for private, family and family life related to inadequate climate policies?

The right to respect for private and family life

Article 8 ECHR has been broadly defined by the Court. It includes rights not specifically mentioned in the article, such as the right to privacy, among others. This case confirms this. The ECtHR notes that the right to effective protection of the life, health, well-being, and quality of life of persons from adverse effects of climate change falls within the scope of Article 8 ECHR (Recital 544). It seems that the existence of this primary duty for governments has created a new right within the application of Article 8 ECHR: the right of individuals to effective government protection against serious adverse effects of climate change on their lives. There is a connection between the right to privacy and the right to pursue an adequate climate policy: both rights fall under the broadly interpreted Article 8 ECHR. It follows from this ruling that governments have an active obligation in the future to respect and guarantee this fundamental right.

How is the right to privacy now protected by the actions of governments?

The decision

The ECtHR recognizes that climate change is a global problem and therefore each State must take national measures to help improve the current and future situation. The association argues that the Swiss government is not taking sufficient action on climate change. For example, Switzerland has laid out its ambitions in a climate law, but it appears that it does not include concrete measures. Therefore, the ECtHR finds that Switzerland is not fulfilling its obligations under Article 8 of the ECHR, thereby violating the right to respect for private, family and family life. In the context of the Swiss interest group, this ruling is groundbreaking because it is the first time the ECtHR has ruled that a State has violated human rights by failing to take sufficient measures against climate change. Already in 2019, the Supreme Court in the Netherlands issued a similar ruling in the Urgenda climate case in which the Dutch State was held liable for violating Article 8 ECHR by negligent climate policy.

And how to proceed after this ECHR ruling?

How to move forward?

As the highest court of human rights at the European level, the ECHR ruling will not only affect Switzerland. It urges all European Union countries to effectively combat climate change. This does not mean that citizens can turn to the ECtHR en masse with their complaints about the effects of climate change. Individual complainants will not easily be declared admissible, only in cases of serious medical conditions or life-threatening situations. The Court will have to emphasize the human rights importance of the climate issue without being inundated with individual complaints. Below the finish line, it will remain a search for the right balance while also respecting the right to due process.