A climate crisis lawsuit was filed against 32 countries, including Türkiye, in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The case was filed by six youths from Portugal as they accused the specific countries of their lack of implementing sufficient precautions on climate change.
The case was initially filed in September 2020 against 27 European Union member states, alongside Britain, Switzerland, Norway, Russia and Türkiye. This has been by far the greatest climate change case ever to be heard of in the ECtHR in Strasbourg,
Six young activists from Portugal, aged between 11 and 24 years old, filed the lawsuit against the countries. The youth accused the specific countries of not taking sufficient steps to prevent climate change. The subject of the case, whose first hearing was held at the ECtHR, was the 2017 forest fires in Portugal, in which 100 people died. The youth argued that the fires in Portugal were a direct result of global warming, as they claimed that their basic human rights were violated due to the reluctance of governments to combat climate change. Thus, for the first time, almost all the European countries were accused and placed in the defendant’s chair in an international court. The 32 defendant countries prepared a common defense statement together, as well as a separate individual defense statement for the hearing.
During the first hearing, Hacı Ali Açıkgül, head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Ministry of Justice, made the defense on behalf of Türkiye. Mr. Açıkgül released a statement about the case to the press.
“We all complain about the problem, both as individuals and as a society and as states. In every society, everyone agrees and unites about global warming, climate change and its effects on human life and human rights. However, the countries that cause 85% of the greenhouse gas emissions that impact climate change are not present. On the other hand, the 32 countries that are currently present are the countries that cause only 15% of the greenhouse emissions. How fair would it be to hold these countries responsible for 15% of the problem while excluding 85% of the problem resulting from African countries, the United States, China, India and Japan?”
Türkiye should not be subjected to a claim that is comparatively remote and inapplicable due to several clauses.
Acikgul continued, “Initially, the first article of the contract is not applicable because it is outside of its borders. In other words, the Republic of Türkiye cannot be held accountable for an incident in Portugal.
"Secondly, there is a failure to exhaust effective domestic legal remedies. The six young activists have not applied and resorted to any country’s domestic legal system, including Portugal.
"Finally, Türkiye was not a party to the Paris climate agreement both on the date of the fire and on the date of the application of the lawsuit. Therefore, Türkiye could not be held responsible for the lack of obligations that are imposed by the Paris Climate Agreement Contract due to the invalidity of the dates.”
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 parties at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, on Dec. 12, 2015. It entered into force on Nov. 4, 2016.
The Paris Agreement's all-inclusive goal is to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.”
The lawsuit is expected to conclude and finalize within the following nine to 18 months. Hopefully, the responsible parties may be addressed and those affected by climate change may be prevented from further harm and environmental damage.
If the young activists win the case, legally binding decisions could be mandatory for the relevant governments. However, due to the lack of admissibility criteria requirements, this specific case seems significantly irrelevant and inadherable for most European countries, especially in the case of Türkiye. Türkiye has taken and is still taking vast steps to address climate change, yet challenges remain inevitable. It is crucial to acknowledge the country’s efforts and celebrate the achievements that have been accomplished so far. Yet, collective and individual actions must continue to be taken in collaboration within all levels of society so that we may all attain a sustainable present and future for everyone.
