GENEVA (AFP) – Switzerland, known for pristine countryside and snow-capped peaks, is facing scrutiny of its environmental policies after becoming the first country faulted by an international court for failing to do enough against climate change.
The European Court of Human Rights’ ruling last week highlighted a number of failings in Swiss policies, but experts stressed that the wealthy Alpine country was not necessarily doing much worse than its peers.
“The judgement made it really clear that there are critical gaps in the Swiss domestic regulatory framework,” said a policy analyst at the London School of Economics and Political Science specialising in climate change laws Tiffanie Chan.
“But it’s definitely not a Switzerland-only case,” she told AFP.Postdoctoral researcher with the Climate Rights and Remedies Project at Zurich University Corina Heri, agreed.
“This doesn’t mean in any way that… only Switzerland has a problem,” she told AFP.
The court last Tuesday ruled in favour of the Swiss association Elders for Climate Protection – 2,500 women above the age of 64 – who had complained Swiss authorities’ “failings” on climate protection could “seriously harm” their health.
Elderly women are particularly vulnerable to the effects of heatwaves, which due to climate change are becoming more frequent and intensifying, they argued.
The court agreed, ruling that the Swiss state’s climate policy failures violated Article 8 of the European rights convention, which guarantees the “right to respect for private and family life”.
