The Strasbourg-based court in November 2020 ordered Luxembourg and 32 other European countries to respond to a landmark lawsuit filed by six youth climate activists, giving the case priority status.

The 8 to 21-year-old plaintiffs from Portugal said the EU’s 27 member countries as well as Norway, Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, the UK and Ukraine are violating their human rights by not doing enough to prevent the climate crisis.

“It’s rather particular,” said Joe Ducomble, a legal advisor at the Luxembourg environment ministry, about the case.

While the court normally first establishes whether a case is admissible and then orders defendants to reply on its substance, both consultations are happening at the same time in the climate lawsuit.

Plaintiffs must usually have exhausted all national legal avenues before they can appear before the European Court of Human Rights. But this would have been a near-impossible undertaking given that 33 countries are cited in the case. “This might be the reason why the court didn’t reject it,” said Ducomble.

Still, Luxembourg will argue that the case isn’t admissible in documents it must file with the court by 27 May. It will also argue that the status of victim isn’t met. “A victim must be able to show a direct causal link between the victim’s damage and the alleged human rights violation,” Ducomble said. In this case--insufficient action in the matter of climate change--this will be hard to achieve, he said.

While there has been some exchange between EU countries in the case, Ducomble said all countries will file separate arguments. Luxembourg won’t deny the link between climate change and human rights. “Climate change has an impact on people,” he said.

But Luxembourg has done plenty to curb emissions and protect the environment, the legal advisor said further in the country’s defence.

Among these initiatives is a climate law, which enshrines the target to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030 and become climate neutral by mid-century. The government has also started levying a CO2 tax, subsidises electric transport and energy-efficient building, has launched a new deal with communes to protect biodiversity and set ambitious goals to increase organic farming.

An environmental review by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development last year, however, concluded that Luxembourg must "redouble its efforts" to actually meet its climate targets and ambitious goals. In 2019, CO2 emissions in Luxembourg grew 2% rather than diminishing. 

The European Court of Human Rights can still decide that the case isn’t admissible, even if it is examining the substance at the same time. “But the discussion will definitely be had,” said Ducomble, adding that he sees awareness raising among the plaintiffs’ goals.

The group didn’t reach a friendly settlement with the countries involved in the lawsuit. 

“It’s not the first time that environmental matters are being discussed at the court,” said Ducomble. And while the European Convention on Human Rights doesn’t specifically make reference to climate change, the Luxembourg legal advisor said that “there’s an evolution and this might be the next step in that evolution.”