Should inaction be a crime? Six young people from Portugal are challenging European countries. They say they have not done enough to stop climate change.
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Six young people sue 32 nations over climate
Should inaction be a crime? Six young people from Portugal are challenging European countries. They say they have not done enough to stop climate change.
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What's happening?
On 17 June 2017, wildfires ripped across PortugalA southern European country next to Spain. It has a population of 10 million. . Sixty-six people died. That October it happened again.
Claudia Duarte Agostinho was there: "What I felt was fear. The wildfires made me really anxiousWorried. about what sort of future I would have."
Her brother Martim's allergies have become worse, while their 11-year-old sister Mariana now has asthmaA common lung condition that can cause breathing difficulties..
Now, with three others, the siblings have chosen to sueStart a legal fight against someone or something. 32 European countries. They accuseSay you think someone has done something wrong. them of going against their human rightsThe basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world, from birth until death. They apply regardless of where you are from, what you believe or how you choose to live your life. Some have called for animals and even natural phenomena like rivers to have some form of human rights. by failing to fight climate changeLong-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Human action is a major cause of climate change.. If they win, they could force countries to take action to stop climate change.
In the USA this August, 16 young people won a similar case against the state of MontanaA state in the northwest of the US known for its mountainous landscape..
Some experts think that one day, failing to stop climate change will be a crimeSex between men was first made illegal in England by Henry VIII in 1533. It was decriminalised in 1967..
Find out more
In 2015 reporters found out that oil companies knew that burning fossil fuelsFuels made from decomposing plants and animals, including coal, natural gas and oil. These fuels release carbon dioxide, causing global warming. caused climate change 50 years ago. But they choose to do it anyway.
Choices like these, say campaigners, have made everyone on Earth suffer.
Others argue that finding people guilty of failing to stop climate change is near impossible. It is very hard to decide who to blameResponsible for a bad thing happening. . For example: is it the bosses of fossil fuel companies to blame? What about the people who work there? Or the people who use the fossil fuels to heat their homes?
Should inaction be a crime?
Yes! Anyone with the power to do something to stop climate change must do so. We will all suffer if they do not. It should be a crime to sit back and do nothing when the planet is in danger.
No! We cannot find everyone who has not stopped climate change guilty of a crime. We need to think about the future and what we can all do to help the Earth.
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Keywords
Portugal - A southern European country next to Spain. It has a population of 10 million.
Anxious - Worried.
Asthma - A common lung condition that can cause breathing difficulties.
Sue - Start a legal fight against someone or something.
Accuse - Say you think someone has done something wrong.
Human rights - The basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world, from birth until death. They apply regardless of where you are from, what you believe or how you choose to live your life. Some have called for animals and even natural phenomena like rivers to have some form of human rights.
Climate change - Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Human action is a major cause of climate change.
Montana - A state in the northwest of the US known for its mountainous landscape.
Crime - Sex between men was first made illegal in England by Henry VIII in 1533. It was decriminalised in 1967.
Fossil fuels - Fuels made from decomposing plants and animals, including coal, natural gas and oil. These fuels release carbon dioxide, causing global warming.
Blame - Responsible for a bad thing happening.
Six young people sue 32 nations over climate
Activists: The six Portuguese youths who have filed a case in the European Court of Human Rights. Glossary
Portugal - A southern European country next to Spain. It has a population of 10 million.
Anxious - Worried.
Asthma - A common lung condition that can cause breathing difficulties.
Sue - Start a legal fight against someone or something.
Accuse - Say you think someone has done something wrong.
Human rights - The basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world, from birth until death. They apply regardless of where you are from, what you believe or how you choose to live your life. Some have called for animals and even natural phenomena like rivers to have some form of human rights.
Climate change - Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Human action is a major cause of climate change.
Montana - A state in the northwest of the US known for its mountainous landscape.
Crime - Sex between men was first made illegal in England by Henry VIII in 1533. It was decriminalised in 1967.
Fossil fuels - Fuels made from decomposing plants and animals, including coal, natural gas and oil. These fuels release carbon dioxide, causing global warming.
Blame - Responsible for a bad thing happening.