Climate protection is pretty low on the political agenda in Switzerland. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the country ranks 15th out of 61 countries in terms of climate policy in an international comparison. That’s not enough for some. For example, the Klima Seniorinnen, an association of thousands of women of retirement age. They joined forces in 2016 to put pressure on the government and promote climate action. They demand that Switzerland’s climate policy be reviewed and climate protection measures adapted. The club has complained about this several times.
Now they are before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). This year, negotiations will be held there to determine whether climate protection is a human right. If the court decides in favor of the activists, this could have consequences for Switzerland’s climate policy. Rita Schirmer-Braun is a member of the Klima Seniorinnen and was present at the hearing before the ECtHR. She reports to the star how things went there and why she is committed to climate protection.
Today, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) dealt for the first time with the question of whether climate protection is a human right. You helped initiate it and were present at the hearing, Ms. Schirmer-Braun. how was it for you
It was very exciting. However, I didn’t understand that much because the hearing was conducted in English and French. Nevertheless, it is a great feeling that our concerns were discussed in this setting. 17 judges will now decide. We as climate seniors have been working towards something like this for a long time and we are all the happier now because this support has been lacking in Switzerland so far.
Why?
The Swiss Confederation was not willing to deal with the content of our request for more climate protection. The Federal Supreme Court upheld this decision. It also noted in passing that the human rights of senior citizens were not violated by Switzerland’s current climate policy. In addition, Switzerland has so far been hardly affected by climate change. But that is changing. We are seeing more and more that the glaciers are melting and our water reservoir is getting smaller. When the glaciers disappear, all we’re left with is surface water. It snows less in winter, which is also bad for the water reserves in summer.
It’s not your first lawsuit?
We came to the federal government in 2016 and asked for more climate protection to protect our fundamental rights to life and health. We were not heard, and both the Federal Administrative Court and the Federal Supreme Court dismissed our complaints. That’s why we brought our climate lawsuit to the European Court of Human Rights ECtHR in Strasbourg with the support of Greenpeace. We couldn’t have done it as a club alone. Now, of course, we’re incredibly excited.
How high do you rate your chances of success before the EMGR?
We can’t say that right now. However, we hope that we will make history with our case.
How was the lawsuit received in Switzerland?
Much has been said about our complaint in recent weeks. Yesterday we also traveled to Strasbourg with 30 media representatives. We are overwhelmed by the great interest. We also receive a lot of encouragement from other climate activists who value our commitment, but there wasn’t that much interest in us before.
In Germany, the Omas for Future are committed to climate protection, but it is rare that seniors are as committed to it as you are. Why do they do that?
For me, climate and the environment have been an issue since the 1970s. Even then you could see the consequences of global warming. I like going to the mountains, I see the paths there that are repeatedly blocked because they slip. Climate change can be observed particularly well in the Alps.
How did the Klima Seniorinnen find each other?
I was made aware of the group by the Greens in Bern. When we were founded in 2016, we were twelve people, then we decided to found an association. We are now 2000 plaintiffs and have over 1100 supporters. Among them are men and people who are younger than us. Now there is also a climate youth, which made us very happy because we weren’t taken seriously at the beginning. But I think that ears will now be opened to our concerns.
How is it going for you and the other climate seniors now?
As long as the verdict is pending, we will continue. That means giving lectures and drawing attention to us. And then we have to think about how we want to shape the club further. We want to continue to intervene in Switzerland if necessary.
