‘Well, what’s new my friend?’ Camp asked me when he sat down at our usual corner table at our favorite watering hole.

            ‘Two items have caught my attention this week. One is about elephants and the other about Swiss senior women,’ I said.

            ‘Oh, please tell. I haven’t followed the news this week; busy with the store and the new spring releases in the ever-fickle publishing market. It’s a guessing game I play every year as in: who will buy what to read this summer?’

            ‘Berlin’s Green environment minister, Steffi Lemke, proposed a new law restricting the import of elephant hunting trophies. When Botswana’s president Masisi heard about this, he threatened to send 20’000 elephants to Germany. Botswana is home to 130’000 elephants, about a third of the world pachyderm population while Germany is one of the biggest importers of such trophies in the EU. Masisi said elephant numbers had exploded as a result of conservation efforts, and hunting helped keep them in check.’

            ‘I suppose the spectre of neo-colonialism hasn’t occurred to Ms Lemke, Camp said, shaking his head of white curls. ‘What about the Swiss seniors?’

‘The European Court of Human Rights, in a landmark decision on the 9^th April in Strasbourg, France, ruled 16-1 in favour of a group representing over 2000 Swiss senior women who accused the Swiss government of violating their human rights by not doing enough to combat climate change?’ 

‘Yes, I did see a news bulletin to that effect somewhere. What about the old men, the sick and the kids? Aren’t they just as much exposed to extreme climate change as older women?’ Camp asked.

‘When asked about that the association (which currently represents over 2,500  Swiss women aged 64) said they are fully aware of those other groups of vulnerable people but decided to focus on the proven particular susceptibility of older women. They are supported by Greenpeace and spent nearly eight years litigating unsuccessfully in the Swiss courts before going to the ECHR. Wydler-Wälti, the president of the group, was ecstatic over the verdict. It’s more than we ever dreamed we’d achieve, she said.’

‘Good for them,’ Camp said. ‘I’m sure this is a controversial decision considering that Switzerland has been hailed as one of the 10 least polluted countries.’ 

‘Yes, there have been many negative reactions from the media and now predictably from the Swiss right-wing Party SVP, who shout foreign interference and claim that the international court has no jurisdiction over Switzerland. This decision plays exactly into their reactionary narrative of nationalist isolationism. On the other hand, one of the values that most strongly unites the Swiss population is their pride in democratic culture. Also, Switzerland does not have a constitutional court. Unlike in Germany or the US, federal policy is elected by plebiscite and not imposed by the courts.’

‘What did the court actually say?’ Camp asked. 

‘In its ruling, the Court explicitly states that the Swiss courts have failed to take into account the compelling scientific evidence of climate change and they had not convincingly justified the dismissal of the lawsuits. The court also found that the women have victim status.’

‘This lawsuit must have affected the personal environment of these courageous women,’ Camp said.

 ‘Because we are older women. Older white men are always taken seriously, as if they have more to say. One of the women seniors said.’ 

‘I suppose this could have far-reaching consequences,’ Camp mused. 

 ‘The ECHR has suspended numerous other climate lawsuits in order to await the precedent from this suit against Switzerland,’ I said, finishing my pint. ‘The decision has an impact on all 46 member states of the Council of Europe. According to the Swiss senior women’s lawyer, Cordelia Bähr, more than 2000 climate lawsuits are pending worldwide.’

‘Wow, let’s hope this makes more of a difference than changing drinking straws into paper straws, which had to be impregnated, which cause more harm than good or the new plastic drinking bottles in the EU where the cap stays attached to the bottle.’

When Vicky brought around a new round of beers, I asked her if she heard about the ruling in Strasbourg. Shaking her head, I filled her in.’

‘Thanks to these gutsy Swiss grammas, my boy might have a better chance at a normal life,’ she said.

Camp and I immediately toasted to that.