Activists to sue Sweden over climate crisis

STOCKHOLM: A Swedish court gave Greta Thunberg and hundreds of other climate activists the go-ahead yesterday to proceed with a class action lawsuit against the Swedish state for “insufficient climate policy”.

Thunberg, and 600 other young activists in a group called Aurora, sued the Swedish state in November, claiming it had to do more to limit global warming to 1.5°C to live up to the European Convention on Human Rights. Yesterday, Nacka District Court said the lawsuit could go ahead after the group made adjustments to the claim.

The Swedish state has three months to respond to the lawsuit before the case could be heard or settled in writing. Aurora wants the court to decide that Sweden needs to cut emissions by at least 6.5-9.4 million tons of CO2 per year, from 2019. “The health and future of the planet, and that of ours, is directly dependent on whether or not our politicians recognise the seriousness of the climate crisis,” the group said. |