by Hundreds of activists, including Greta Thunberg, marched through the Swedish capital on Friday to a court to file a lawsuit against the Swedish state over insufficient climate action.
More than 600 young people under the age of 26 signed the 87-page document, which forms the basis of the lawsuit filed in Stockholm District Court.
They want the court to find that the country violated the human rights of its citizens with its climate policy.
“Sweden has never treated the climate crisis as a crisis,” said Anton Foley, spokesman for youth-led Aurora, which prepared and filed the lawsuit. “Sweden is not fulfilling its responsibilities and is breaking the law.”
The action comes as scientists warn the chances of limiting future warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit since pre-industrial times are dwindling.
At a recent UN climate conference in Egypt earlier this month, leaders tried to keep that goal alive but made no calls for cutting carbon emissions.
Another activist, Ida Edling, said that Sweden “is pursuing a climate policy that research is quite clear will contribute to a climate catastrophe in the future”.
The Swedish parliament decided in 2017 that the Scandinavian country should have no net emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by 2045 and have 100% renewable energy.
Swedish broadcaster TV4 said the government declined to comment on ongoing court cases.
Climate activists have filed numerous lawsuits against governments and corporations in recent years, with mixed success.
In one of the most prominent cases, Germany’s highest court ruled last year that the federal government must adjust its climate targets so as not to overburden young people.
The federal government responded by bringing forward its “net-zero” emissions target by five years to 2045 and laying out more ambitious short- and medium-term steps to achieve that goal.
