Sweden's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Greta Thunberg and hundreds of other activists cannot move forward with a class-action lawsuit that aimed to compel the state to take more decisive action against climate change.
In 2022, the activists filed a lawsuit asserting that the state was not adequately addressing climate change in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case faced procedural review.
The group of 300 plaintiffs, known as the Aurora group, sought to compel Sweden to intensify efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
"Parliament or the government should take specific actions independently, as decided by democratic bodies," commented Supreme Court Justice Jonas Malmberg to Reuters.
Despite the dismissal, the court left open the possibility that a differently formulated climate lawsuit could be considered in Sweden. The European Court of Justice has indicated that groups meeting certain criteria may have the right to litigate climate issues.
Aurora group expressed intentions to explore their legal avenues further.
"We will persist in our efforts to avert global crises and push Sweden to fulfill its legal obligations regarding human rights and combatting the environmental crisis," stated Aurora's legal and scientific coordinator Ida Edling to Reuters.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled last year that the Swiss government had breached the rights of a group of senior women by not adequately addressing climate change. In separate cases, the court called for six young individuals to first pursue a ruling in Portugal before filing against 32 European countries over climate inaction.