Sweden‘s Supreme Court has ruled that a class action lawsuit taken by Greta Thunberg and approximately 300 activists against the state is not admissible.
According to the details of the case, the plaintiffs argued that the state was violating their human rights under the European Convention by not taking sufficient measures to combat climate change, and sought a ruling to ensure the state take specific actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The case was originally taken at Nacka District Court, and was referred to the country’s Supreme Court to determine whether it was able to proceed.
European ruling
In its judgement, the Supreme Court noted that the European Court of Justice had previously ruled that climate change has already contributed to increased mortality and that, without state action, it may become irreversible, adding that the European Convention allows climate lawsuits against states under certain conditions.
However, it noted that climate change is a general issue affecting everyone, meaning ‘very high requirements are set for individuals to have the right to bring such an action’. In other words, a case can only proceed if a state’s failure to act has had certain effects on an individual’s rights.
Individual class action
‘The action brought before the Nacka District Court is not brought by an association, but by a person who is bringing the action on behalf of individuals,’ the court added.
‘This form of individual class action cannot be equated with such an action by an association as the European Court of Human Rights considered in its ruling. The action in question is an action by individuals and they have not invoked circumstances that mean that the risk of negative consequences of climate change is particularly serious for them and that their need for individual protection is acute.’
The court also determined that the claim was inadmissible because it sought to require the state to take specific measures, which falls under the responsibility of political bodies, rather than the courts.
It did, however, refrain from excluding the possibility of future climate lawsuits in Sweden.
“The court has not taken a position on how the issue would be assessed if the claim were brought by an association, and if the claim was limited to requesting a declaration that the state had violated their rights under the European Convention by failing to take sufficient measures to counteract the effects of climate change,” commented Jonas Malmberg, one of the judges in the case. Read more here.
