The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in its judgment in the case Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and others v. Switzerland  decided that Switzerland had not acted sufficiently in the field of mitigating climate change. This exposed the Swiss elderly female applicants to the risk of climate damage, especially heatstroke, and violated their Article 8 right to home and family life.

The Court ruled that states are obliged under Article 8 to have in place an appropriate climate management system consisting of a binding national regulatory framework and adequate follow-up implementation (549-550). Climate targets must form an "integral part" of this framework, and mitigation policy measures will then be used to meet them (549). According to the Court, states have a large degree of discretion in relation to these measures or means, but less in relation to the aims and objectives embodied in the objectives (543, 549). (Chris Hilson, Oliver Geden, more at ejiltalk.org)