Climate change as a human rights issue
The SHRI’s study on “Climate change as a human rights issue” presents an analysis of Switzerland’s human rights obligations in the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation. The accompanying policy brief (in German) demonstrates that climate policy and legislation are not just technical and economic issues, but are also an integral part of human and fundamental rights policy.
Climate change poses an acute threat to the Earth’s ecosystem as a result of human activity and is already putting the livelihoods of many people around the world at risk. Temperature increases, more frequent extreme weather events and rising sea levels have direct impacts on human rights, particularly the rights to life, health, food, clean water and housing.
The SHRI’s study on “Climate change as a human rights issue” systematically examines the human rights principles of a coherent Swiss climate policy and legislation. It draws on the latest developments within the UN human rights bodies and international and regional jurisprudence, in particular the Advisory Opinion on climate change of the International Court of Justice (2025) and the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Verein KlimaSeniorinnen and Others v. Switzerland (2024).