A group of six young Portuguese people ranging in age from 11 to 24 are taking action action against 32 governments including all EU member states, the UK, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey for failing to take appropriate action on climate change.
The case is the first of its kind to be filed at the European Court of Human Rights and could set a legal precedent for the governments.
They claim that their fundamental human rights (right to life, privacy, family life and to be free from discrimination) are being violated and that the European forest fires occurring since 2017 regularly are a direct result of climate change.
Lawyers argue that, whilst not claiming compensation, those filing the lawsuit have not established sufficient direct harm as a result of climate change. However, according to an interview with the BBC, Claudia (24) states that her 11-year-old sister Mariana still gets scared when she hears helicopters flying above, which remind her of the firefighters back in 2017, when more than 50,000 acres (78 sq miles, 202 sq km) of forest were destroyed, and ashes from the wildfires were falling over their house.
The case continues.
