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Swedish court to hear young people’s climate lawsuit against the state

Three hundred young people including activist Greta Thunberg will get to make their case after a Swedish court agreed to hear their lawsuit accusing the state of climate inaction.

Swedish court to hear young people's climate lawsuit against the state
Greta Thunberg carrying a sign saying "we're suing the state". Photo: Christine Olsson/TT

The lawsuit, the first of its kind in the Scandinavian country, was originally filed in November 2022 by the organisation Aurora.

It argued the state “needs to do its fair share of the global work to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels”.

In its lawsuit, the group demanded the state take action to limit climate-heating greenhouse gas emissions and examine just how far it could reduce them within the limits of what is “technically and economically feasible in Sweden”.

The Nacka district court said it had given the state three months to respond to the lawsuit and that, depending on the parties’ pleas and positions, the case could either be taken to trial or handled through written procedure.

“At present, the district court cannot give a forecast as to when the case may be finalised or when it may be necessary to hold hearings in the case,” it said.

Climate activist Thunberg, who was one of the original signatories of the lawsuit, on Monday denounced an “unprecedented betrayal” from those in power after the United Nations’ climate panel warned the world was set to cross the key 1.5-degree global warming limit in about a decade.

She accuses them of living in “denial”.

In recent years, a growing number of organisations and citizens have turned to the courts to criticise what they say is government inaction on the climate.

In December 2019, the Dutch supreme court ordered the government to slash greenhouse gases by at least 25 percent by 2020, in a landmark case brought by an environmental group.

In a similar case in France, more than two million citizens took the French state to court for failing to act against climate change.

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TRAVEL NEWS

Swedish police launch investigation into Arlanda Express derailment

Police are treating the derailment of an Arlanda Express airport train last week as suspicious, investigating the event under the crimes "causing bodily injury" and "creating danger to another".

Swedish police launch investigation into Arlanda Express derailment

There were 67 people on board the train, which departed Stockholm Central station at 4.20am on May 27th, derailing 14 minutes later, injuring two people.

Public broadcaster SVT reports that there were known issues on the section of track where the train derailed, according to documents seen by its journalists.

A rail employee carrying out a routine inspection on the tracks two weeks prior to the incident wrote in a report on May 9th that they had discovered cracks in the junction where the derailment later occurred, SVT reports.

The police and the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (Haverikommissionen) have both launched investigations into the incident.

“There were passengers and staff on the train when it derailed,” detective sergeant and leader of the investigation Robert Björk told SVT. “Everyone who was on the train was at risk of being injured.”

Arlanda Express trains have been cancelled since the incident, with repairs expected to last until around June 3rd.

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