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ARTICLE · 04 MARCH 2025

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Turning Up The Heat: Groundbreaking Climate Litigation In Europe And Canada

McCarthy Tétrault
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In 2024, Europe's highest human rights court found that the Swiss government violated the rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change.

CanadaEnvironment
Una Radoja
Una Radoja
Rachel Abrahams
Rachel Abrahams
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In 2024, Europe's highest human rights court found that the Swiss government violated the rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change. The case, Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and others v. Switzerland ("KlimaSeniorinnen"), is the first instance of a court finding that climate inaction violates human rights. KlimaSeniorinnen underscores the potential for human rights law to be used as a tool to hold governments accountable for their climate policies.

Hinting to the possibility of similar developments in Canada, the Ontario Court of Appeal took a significant step in the development of climate-related litigation. In Mathur v. Ontario, the Court of Appeal for Ontario clarified that climate-related issues can be challenged in court and clarified the analytical framework for doing so on the bases of Sections 7 and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the "Charter").1

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