KlimaSeniorinnen requires the EU to set a 2040 target of at least 90 % reduction domestically

Professor Christina Eckes has written a blogpost for the website, European Law Blog on the implications of KlimaSeniorinnen for the EU’s 2040 emissions reduction commitment.

”Following some pushback, the European Commission postponed the release of the EU’s 2040 emission reduction target and appears to consider weakening the proposed 90% emission reduction as compared to 1990. However, weakening the EU’s ambition is not compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

This blogpost explains why the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)’s ruling in KlimaSeniorinnenread in light of the report of the European Scientific Advisory Board for Climate Change (ESABCC) requires the EU to reduce emissions domestically, i.e. on its territory, as quickly as possible but at least by 90% in 2040. In addition, the Bosphorus presumption that would shield the EU and its Member States from strict review in Strasbourg is not applicable to climate litigation challenging emission reduction targets of the Member States. As a consequence, weakening the EU 2040 target would expose the EU Member States to human rights challenges before the ECtHR and national courts.”