Sweden’s top court rejects Greta Thunberg lawsuit on climate action
STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Sweden’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Greta Thunberg and hundreds of other activists cannot proceed with a lawsuit that had sought to force the state to take stronger action against climate change.
Activists filed a class action lawsuit in with a district court, arguing that the state violates rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights by not doing enough to limit climate change, or mitigate its effects.
The district court asked the Supreme Court in to clarify whether such a lawsuit could effectively be tried in a Swedish court, following a request by the state for the case to be dismissed.
“A court cannot decide that the parliament or the government must take any specific action. The political bodies decide independently on which specific climate measures Sweden should take,” the Supreme Court said in a statement on Wednesday.
But the court added that it had not ruled out that a lawsuit formulated differently could be heard in Sweden, as the European Court of Justice has said groups meeting certain requirements may have the right to sue over climate change.
“The
Greta Thunberg
Swedish environmental activist (born )
Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈɡrêːtaˈtʉ̂ːnbærj]ⓘ; born 3 January ) is a Swedish environmental activist known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action to mitigate the effects of human-caused climate change.[1]
Born in Stockholm, Thunberg's climate activism began when she persuaded her parents to adopt lifestyle choices that reduced her family's carbon footprint. In August , aged 15, Thunberg began skipping school, vowing to remain out of school until after a Swedish election to attempt to influence the outcome. She protested outside the Swedish parliament where she called for stronger action on climate change by holding up a Skolstrejk för Klimatet (School Strike for Climate) sign and handing out informational flyers.[2] After the election, Thunberg spoke in front of supporters, telling them to use phones to film her. She then said she would continue school striking for the climate every Friday until Sweden was in compliance with the Paris climate agreement.[3] Thunberg's youth and blunt speaking manner fueled her rise to the stat
Sweden top court rejects Greta Thunberg's class action lawsuit for stronger climate response
Sweden’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Greta Thunberg and hundreds of other activists cannot proceed with a class action lawsuit that had sought to force the state to take stronger action against climate change.
Activists filed a lawsuit in arguing that the state violates the European Convention on Human Rights by not doing enough to limit climate change, or mitigate its effects, and the case has since been subject to review on procedural grounds.
The group of plaintiffs in the case, who call themselves the Aurora group, wanted the courts to order Sweden to do more to limit global warming to degrees Celsius ( degrees Fahrenheit).
“A court cannot decide that parliament or the government should take any specific action without the democratic bodies deciding independently on those issues,” Supreme Court Justice Jonas Malmberg told Reuters.
But the court did not rule out that a climate lawsuit formulated differently could be heard in Sweden, as the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has said groups meeting certain requirements may have the right to sue over
Greta Thunberg: Who is the climate activist and what has she achieved?
Greta Thunberg is one of the world's best-known climate change campaigners.
She has been credited with raising public awareness, especially amongst young people
Who is Greta Thunberg and how did she become a climate activist?
Ms Thunberg was born in the Swedish capital Stockholm in Her mother Malena Ernman is an opera singer, and her father Svante Thunberg is an actor.
She first learned about climate change when she was eight.
When she was 11 or 12, she started suffering from depression, according to her father, Svante.
"She stopped talking she stopped going to school," he said.
Around the same time she was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism.
In summer , aged 15, Ms Thunberg held the first "School Strike for Climate" outside the Swedish parliament.
The protest was widely covered, and hundreds of thousands of young people across the world joined her Fridays For Future strikes.
Mr Thunberg says his daughter became "much happier" after she started campaigning.
She has descri
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