Austrian files climate lawsuit against government
An Austrian multiple sclerosis sufferer has sued his government in the European rights court for failing to protect the climate, saying global warming has worsened his condition, an activist group said yesterday. The man, whose name was only given as Mex M., suffers from a temperature-dependent form of multiple sclerosis, said the Austrian branch of the Fridays For Future movement initiated by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. "From 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) I sit in a wheelchair. That means: I'm already affected by the climate crisis and in the future even more so," the 40-year-old energy consultant said. "A success would enable me to demand effective climate measures and to claim this in court." The suit was filed at the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Friday. "The climate law is weak and does not give you the opportunity to do anything against it," his lawyer Michaela Kroemer told AFP.
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