Top European court to rule on climate change obligations

Although activists have had successes with lawsuits in domestic proceedings, this will be the first time an international court has ruled on climate change

The countries facing the legal challenges hope the cases will be dismissed. They say the blame for climate change cannot rest with any individual country. Picture: Jean-Francois Badias/AP

Europe’s highest human rights court will rule on a group of landmark climate change cases aimed at forcing countries to meet international obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The European Court of Human Rights will hand down decisions in a trio of cases brought by a French mayor, six Portuguese youngsters and more than 2,000 members of Senior Women for Climate Protection, who say their governments are not doing enough to combat climate change.