Stockholm university

How children are taking European states to court over the climate crisis – and changing the law

Even before Greta Thunberg launched her school strike for climate at age 15, youth activists have been key players in public action on the climate crisis. Now they’re breaking new ground in court.

Photo: World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo


The article is published on April 8 and is written by Pernilla Leviner, professor at the Faculty of Law, Stockholm University, together with colleagues at Uppsala University and University College Cork.

They write:
“The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child outlines the rights to which under-18s are entitled, and it has certainly been successful in drawing attention to the rights and interests of children. But its non-discrimination article – which mirrors other human rights instruments – is also almost always applied to minorities, gender and disabled children. It is rarely used, if ever, to protect children (as opposed to adults) as a group from discrimination.

Unfair discrimination can include laws and practices that exclude groups. It can also include those that ignore the unique needs of a specific group. The latter is what is being argued in this case. The claimants’ position is that climate policies place most of the economic and environmental burden on the younger generation. Too little attention is being paid to figuring out how to share that burden and reduce carbon emissions right now.”

Read the article published in The Conversation:
https://theconversation.com/how-children-are-taking-european-states-to-court-over-the-climate-crisis-and-changing-the-law-158546

Read more about the collaboration between Stockholm University and The Conversation and how to pitch an article idea: https://www.su.se/staff/services/information-communication/pitch-an-article-idea-for-the-conversation-1.462268

More articles in The Conversation by researchers at Stockholm University: https://theconversation.com/institutions/stockholm-university-1019

 

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