Swiss Women Win Landmark Climate Victory

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a major climate legal victory against Switzerland, Turkey imposing trade restrictions on Israel, and strengthened ties between China and Russia.

Top Court Slams Climate Failures

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday that Switzerland violated its citizens’ human rights by failing to adequately combat climate change. This is the first-ever climate victory at the court and paves the way for future plaintiffs to sue their governments for better climate protections.

“It is clear that future generations are likely to bear an increasingly severe burden of the consequences of present failures and omissions to combat climate change,” said Court President Siofra O’Leary. The verdict cannot be appealed.

More than 2,000 Swiss women aged 64 and older argued that Bern’s climate inaction put them at risk of death during heat waves in Europe, noting that their age and gender make them particularly vulnerable. Last month was the world’s hottest March in recorded history, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reported on Tuesday, and a study published last year by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health recorded more than 61,000 heat-related deaths in Europe during the summer of 2022, with around 63 percent more women than men dying and the vast majority being older adults.

The 17-judge panel in Strasbourg, France, said the Swiss government failed to set a national carbon budget and did not comply with its targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, thereby breaching the women’s rights to effective protection from “the serious adverse effects of climate change on lives, health, well-being and quality of life.” In 2017, Switzerland committed to cutting emissions 50 percent from 1990 levels by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2050.

“Together with the authorities concerned, we will now analyze the extensive judgment and review what measures Switzerland will take in the future,” Bern said in response to the ruling. The court ordered Switzerland to pay nearly $87,000 to the plaintiffs (members of a group known as KlimaSeniorinnen, or Senior Women for Climate Protection) to cover their expenses. It could also force Bern to reduce fossil fuel consumption more rapidly. If Switzerland fails to update its policies, further litigation could lead to additional financial penalties.

The ruling establishes a binding legal precedent for the 46 countries that are signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights. Six other climate cases are currently on hold at the court pending Tuesday’s decision, including a lawsuit against Norway that alleges that Oslo violated its citizens’ human rights by issuing licenses for oil and gas exploration in the Barents Sea post-2035.

Despite the major win, the court rejected two other climate-related cases on procedural grounds. In one case, the former mayor of a French coastal town argued that climate inaction risked his city being submerged in the North Sea. However, the court dismissed his case because he no longer lives in France and claimants must prove that they are direct victims of rights violations.

The other case centered on six Portuguese young people suing 32 European governments for failing to combat heat waves and wildfires that make them unable to go outside. The judges ruled that the plaintiffs had not yet exhausted all legal avenues within Portugal and said the fact that greenhouse gas emissions can impact people living outside a nation’s borders does not justify prosecuting the case across numerous jurisdictions.

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What We’re Following

Ankara’s pressure campaign. Turkey restricted exports to Israel on Tuesday, saying Ankara will only lift its curbs on trade once Israel and Hamas secure a cease-fire in Gaza and “the unhindered flow of sufficient humanitarian aid” is allowed to enter the enclave. The announcement impacts 54 product categories, including iron, steel, fertilizer, and aviation fuel. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the decision was made in response to Israel denying Turkey’s request late Monday to airdrop aid into Gaza. Ankara plans to maintain commercial ties with Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz immediately condemned Turkey’s actions, accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of “once again sacrificing the economic interests of the people of Turkey for his support of Hamas.” Israel ordered its Foreign Ministry on Tuesday to prepare an “extensive list” of Turkish products to ban, and it said it would ask the United States and other allies to stop investing in Turkey and prevent imports from the country.

Cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas remain ongoing in Cairo. On Tuesday, CIA Director William Burns presented a new cease-fire proposal, which Hamas said its leadership would discuss. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that he has set a date for Israel’s much-anticipated offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, though he did not specify when that would be. However, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reportedly told U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a phone call on Tuesday that Israel has not set a date for the Rafah operation. The two countries are expected to discuss alternatives to such an operation next week.

Maritime cooperation. Six European nations signed an agreement on Tuesday to collaborate on protecting underwater infrastructure from possible Russian attacks, among other threats. Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom all have maritime borders on the North Sea, where major undersea cables, gas pipelines, and telecommunications networks reside. They also argued that the North Sea has the potential to become a hub for renewable energy, making its protection critical.

Last May, NATO warned that Moscow might sabotage undersea cables to retaliate against Western support for Ukraine. And in September 2022, explosions targeted the Nord Stream pipelines, which transported gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. No one has claimed responsibility for that attack.

Beijing-Moscow friendship. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Beijing on Tuesday—mere days after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned China not to support Moscow’s conflict in Ukraine. The two ministers pledged to better combat “hegemonism” and maintain “industrial supply chain stability” in what experts interpreted as veiled criticism of Washington. Yellen warned Beijing on Saturday of “significant consequences” if Chinese companies provide material support for Russia’s war effort.

Experts predict that Tuesday’s bilateral meeting is laying the groundwork for Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit China in the near future. Moscow and Beijing have grown closer in recent years despite China claiming to be neutral in Russia’s war against Ukraine, with both nations touting Western-alternative blocs such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS (a bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and five new members).

Odds and Ends

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador became the ultimate cat person on Sunday when he declared the National Palace’s 19 feline friends, which already have free rein of every part of the property, as “living fixed assets”—the first animals in Mexico to receive the title. The designation means that even after López Obrador leaves office in October, Mexico City must provide the cats food and care for life. As the proud parent of a cat named Pepper, this author firmly supports that decision.