PAN rejects Europe’s climate decision as ‘total failure’

A PAN spokesman said on Tuesday that young Portuguese’s complaint against 32 countries for inaction on global warming was an inspiration and that their European rejection did not represent a “total failure”.

“[A decisão do Tribunal Europeu dos Direitos Humanos] this should not be seen as a complete defeat, on the contrary, it should serve as inspiration for the fight against the climate crisis,” defended Ines Souza Real in a conversation with the Lusa agency.

The sole PAN MP was reacting to the fact that on Tuesday the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rejected the argument used by six young Portuguese who sued Portugal and 31 other countries for inaction on climate change.

“We are talking about a purely procedural decision, that is, the court, despite the fact that for formal reasons it rejected this initiative on the part of the young Portuguese, since it understands that all official and sanctioning bodies have not been exhausted, here makes its statement. a very important recognition,” – he thought.

For the MP, the role of these young Portuguese should be a source of pride, “as the court recognized that climate change in fact represents an existential threat to humanity and a generational challenge.”

According to the PAN leader, this phenomenon means that “the ball is in the court of the government, in particular the Portuguese government.”

“It is very important that we promote public policies that ensure not only the decarbonization of our model of society, be it from an economic point of view agriculture and in particular intensive livestock farming or fossil fuels, but above all the conservation of nature and the promotion of its conservation. restoration,” he said.

Ines Sousa Real also said she understood why these young people appealed to the ECHR, stressing that Portuguese justice is slow.

“Actions like this in Portugal are taking too long and we don’t have time to deal with the climate emergency,” he warned.

Asked about the role that the government led by Luis Montenegro could play at this stage, Ines Sousa Real said that in his inaugural speech the Prime Minister said that “despite his concerns about climate change, this had to be done in accordance with the principles of economics and sustainable economics.”

“The truth is that it is the other way around: the economy must adapt to what is required to combat climate change,” he argued, accusing Luis Montenegro of bringing “the former president of the Portuguese Farmers Confederation” into the Assembly of the Republic. (CAP), who denied climate change,” referring to Eduardo Oliveira and Sousa.

After reading the decision, in Strasbourg (France), the ECHR ruled that the case was inadmissible from the point of view of the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the countries mentioned.

The court also held that the applicants had not exhausted all remedies available to them in Portugal before approaching that European authority.

On September 27 last year, six young people were heard at the ECHR, which then found that states had devalued climate change and ignored evidence.

Taking legal action against countries’ inaction on climate change is becoming increasingly common, according to a recent UN report that found the number of cases has more than doubled in five years.