Sweden's top court rejects Greta Thunberg lawsuit on climate action

Sweden's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Greta Thunberg and hundreds of other activists cannot proceed with a lawsuit that had sought to force the state to take more decisive action against climate change.

Activists filed a class action lawsuit in 2022 with a district court, arguing that the state violates rights in the European Convention on Human Rights by not doing enough to limit climate change or mitigate its effects.

The district court asked the Supreme Court in 2023 to clarify whether such a lawsuit could effectively be tried in a Swedish court, following a request by the state for the case to be dismissed.

"A court cannot decide that the parliament or the government must take any specific action. The political bodies decide independently on which specific climate measures Sweden should take," the Supreme Court said in a statement on Wednesday.

However, the court added that it had not ruled out that a lawsuit formulated differently could be heard in Sweden, as the European Court of Justice has said groups meeting certain requirements may have the right to sue over climate change.

Reuters