Group demands symbolic compensation for government inaction on climate change
Hundreds of people across the country started a lawsuit against the government, this Thursday (18), to demand compensation for its inaction in the face of climate change, said the lawyer who filed the lawsuit. “We have just presented our action and evidence to the court. Our appeal has been officially accepted for processing,” lawyer Akihiro Shima told AFP, who argues that the government’s inaction is unconstitutional.
The historic demand criticizes Japan’s “severely insufficient” measures in the face of climate change, which put the health and lives of the almost 450 signatories of the initiative at risk. One of them, builder Kiichi Akiyama, stated that the persistent heat means his team has to work more slowly, which generates “huge losses” for his company. “We have had cases where people faint in the field or fall dead after returning home,” said the 57-year-old Japanese man.
Before the lawsuit announced this Thursday, five other climate-related lawsuits were filed in Japanese courts, including one against coal-fired power plants, said professor Masako Ichihara, from Kyoto University, who follows lawsuits across the country.
However, according to the professor and the lawyers involved, this is the first action seeking compensation from the State due to climate change. “The measures taken by the defendant against climate change are grossly inadequate and, as a result, are violating the plaintiff’s rights to a peaceful life and to enjoy a stable climate,” states the summary of the lawsuit, obtained by AFP.
Record heat
Japan this year suffered the hottest summer since records began in 1898. Plaintiffs allege that heat waves cause economic losses, damage crops and leave many people exposed to debilitating heat stroke. Akiyama, who often works in intense heat, says it takes his team up to three times as long to complete their projects.
“I can barely dig with a shovel for 10 minutes without having to sit down to rest,” he said. “We wouldn’t be in this terrible situation if the government had more initiative to adopt climate policies.”
Japanese government spokesman Minoru Kihara did not comment on the action, but highlighted that Japan has approved “ambitious” emissions reduction targets, compatible with the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement.
Similar lawsuits have been filed in other countries, including one in South Korea, where young environmentalists won the first case of its kind in Asia when a court ruled last year that many climate goals are unconstitutional. In Germany, climate targets were also declared insufficient and unconstitutional in 2021.
The lawsuit in Japan seeks compensation of one thousand yen (US$6.5, R$35) per plaintiff. The main lawyer stated that the authors want to highlight “the issue of the country’s responsibility”, more than the money.
Professor Ichihara acknowledged that there is little chance of winning in court, but “if the objective is to attract the attention of public opinion” it may be successful because it is something that is easy for people to identify with. Japan has set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2035 and 73% by 2040, compared to 2013 levels.
The targets are considerably below the global objectives highlighted in the most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and are not binding, according to the action.
*With information from AFP
