Why Greta Thunberg and 600 young people are suing Sweden

More than 600 young people, including activist Gretta Thunberg, took legal action on November 25 against the Swedish state over its climate change measures, a first for the Scandinavian kingdom.

“No climate lawsuit of this magnitude has ever been initiated in the Swedish judiciary,” Ida Edling, a member of the Aurora committee, the movement that initiated the appeal, told AFP. The complaint, which was filed symbolically during a demonstration in the Swedish capital, has already been filed digitally with a Stockholm court today, the committee explained.

Sharp criticism of the new Swedish government
The appeal has been in preparation for almost two years, but it comes at a time when the new right-wing government of Sweden has been heavily criticized for its lack of climate ambitions. Although this appeal is the first before a Swedish judiciary, Sweden was already on the list of 32 countries against which six young Portuguese brought cases to the European Court of Human Rights in 2020, again for alleged lack of action against global warming. “If we win, a court decision will be issued, according to which the Swedish state will be obliged to contribute to the globally necessary measures to maintain the goal of 1.5 degrees,” said Ida Edling.

New fashion? The number of organizations applying to the judiciary is growing
In recent years, more organizations and citizens have taken to the courts to denounce government inaction on global warming. In a landmark case, the Dutch Supreme Court in December 2019 ordered the Dutch government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% by the end of 2020. In France, a similar case, “The Case of the Century”, forced more than 2 million citizens to recognize the state’s inability to fight climate change.

In a report released on Tuesday, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) highlighted that the country’s average temperature has risen by nearly two degrees since the late 19th century, twice as fast as the global average.

The snow season in Sweden is already two weeks shorter, while the amount of precipitation in the Scandinavian country has increased.

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