Judges trying to punish governments for not controlling present or future weather is an absurdity ripe for knocking on the head. In any case, Swiss glaciers have advanced and retreated in the past with no input from the government or anyone else, so local climate variation is nothing new.
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BERN (Reuters) -The lower house of the Swiss parliament voted on Wednesday to reject a ruling ordering Switzerland to do more to combat global warming in a move that could encourage others to resist the influence of international courts, reports Swissinfo.ch.
In April, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg issued an unprecedented judgment that said Bern had violated the human rights of a group of older Swiss women, the KlimaSeniorinnen, by failing to tackle climate change.
But Bern’s lower house on Wednesday followed in the steps of the upper house and passed a non-binding motion with 111 votes in favour and 72 against blasting the court’s “judicial activism”.
It argued there was no reason to take further action because Switzerland, warming at more than twice the global rate [Talkshop comment – no evidence presented], was already doing enough.
During the debate, lawmakers denounced the court’s “interference” in Swiss democracy and one called the Strasbourg ruling “erroneous” as several older women who brought the case looked on.
One of the members of parliament from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, which is the biggest party in parliament, appeared to mock the women, criticising them for bringing a case “because they are a bit too hot in the summer”.
Michael Graber, from the Valais canton, was referring to their argument that the government’s inadequate climate policies put them at risk of dying during heatwaves.
Full report here.
via Tallbloke’s Talkshop
June 13, 2024 at 04:22AM
Iowa Climate Science Education 