Norway taken to human rights court by climate activists
Decision to grant arctic oil exploration licences violates right to healthy environment say campaigners.
The government of Norway has been taken to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) by six climate activists and two environmental NGOs, reports the Guardian. The environmentalists argue that Norway’s plans to drill for oil in the arctic are harming young people’s futures.
Greenpeace and Young Friends of the Earth want Oslo’s 2016 decision to grant 10 Barents Sea exploration revoked, alleging the licences violate article 112 of the Norwegian constitution, which guarantees the right to a healthy environment.
“The environmentalists argue that, by allowing new oil drilling in the midst of a climate crisis, Norway is in breach of fundamental human rights,” the campaigners said in a statement announcing their appeal to the ECHR.
The court case follows a recent ruling in the Netherlands against Royal Dutch Shell, who were held to account over their carbon emissions by Friends of the Earth and 17,000 co-plaintiffs.
