An Italian court is set to rule on the country’s first climate lawsuit against the state, and the claimants hope Rome will be ordered to make deep cuts to its greenhouse-gas emissions. The Rome appeals court is due to deliver its decision later this month.
The case, known as “Giudizio Universale” (Last Judgment), was launched in June 2021 by the environmental group A Sud and more than 200 other associations and individuals.
Claimants say state has failed on Paris goals
The claimants accuse the state of violating fundamental rights by not taking sufficient action to meet the aims of the landmark 2015 Paris agreement on reducing carbon emissions. They initially asked a court to find the state responsible for contributing to the crisis and to order a 92 percent cut in emissions compared with 1990 levels by 2030.
Among the claimants is climatologist Luca Mercalli, who said he joined the trial because he wanted to inform society about the risks posed by climate change. Mercalli, who moved to the mountains of northern Italy to escape increasingly frequent heatwaves on the plains, said a win would push institutions to act faster on the climate crisis.
Rome court’s 2024 jurisdiction ruling prompts appeal
In 2024, a Rome court agreed with the state’s argument that civil courts do not have jurisdiction over government decisions on climate. Luca Saltalamacchia, a lawyer for A Sud, described the ruling as unique in Europe.
He said European courts usually either back the plaintiffs and order the state to act, or dismiss the case on its merits. “Never before in a European country has a judge simply said, ‘No, I cannot rule’,” he said.
The claimants have appealed, citing a 2024 European Court of Human Rights ruling in a Swiss case that linked climate protection with human rights. They have also submitted new scientific evidence, including data on large numbers of heat-related excess deaths in Italy and forecasts on desertification and floods.
Appeal seeks orders on Italy’s climate policies
Saltalamacchia said the claimants hope the court will agree not only to examine the merits of the case but also to order the state to improve its climate policies. He argued that agreements such as the Paris accord require the state to take specific steps that, in the claimants’ view, have not been taken.
Under the Paris accord, countries agreed to pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5C above preindustrial levels. Scientists now say that threshold could be breached by about 2030. A 2022 reform of Italy’s constitution also states that the state must protect the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems, including in the interest of future generations.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, Europe is warming at roughly twice the global average. Italy, the source notes, is increasingly affected by extreme weather events.
