Sweden's Supreme court throws out youth climate lawsuit backed by Greta Thunberg

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🗞️ Driving the news: Sweden’s Supreme Court has dismissed a climate lawsuit backed by Greta Thunberg and 300 young activists, ruling that courts cannot force the government to take specific climate actions
• The lawsuit accused Sweden of failing to sufficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• However, the court suggested that a similar case could be considered if brought by an association rather than individuals

🔭 The context: The lawsuit, led by the Aurora group, argued that Sweden should take all technically and economically feasible measures to cut emissions
• The court ruled that individual citizens do not have the right to sue the state for public interest issues like climate change
• This decision follows a recent European Court of Human Rights ruling stating that associations may have standing in climate cases

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Climate litigation is increasingly used as a tool to hold governments accountable for climate inaction
• The rejection of this case highlights legal barriers to climate lawsuits in Sweden, but also suggests a pathway for future cases
• Successful lawsuits in Switzerland and the Netherlands have already set precedents for legal action against government inaction on climate change

⏭️ What's next: Aurora is considering alternative legal strategies to challenge Sweden’s climate policies
• The ruling may push climate activists to form associations to meet legal requirements for future lawsuits
• European courts continue to play a key role in shaping climate accountability

💬 One quote: “Aurora will definitely continue fighting to prevent planetary collapses and to hold the Swedish state accountable.” — Ida Edling, Aurora spokeswoman

📈 One stat: In 2024, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Switzerland was not doing enough to combat climate change, marking the first such condemnation of a country by an international tribunal

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