Class action lawsuit against world leaders for allowing global warming being filed at the International Criminal Court in the Hague

Class action lawsuit against world leaders for allowing global warming being filed at the International Criminal Court in the Hague

Class action lawsuit against global warming puts world leaders on notice



Nov 06, 3008

Think Don Quixote had it hard tilting at windmills? Now comes climate activist Danny Bloom with a class action lawsuit against all current world leaders for allowing global warming to proceed apace, and he's asking for US1$billion in damages to be paid to future generations of human beings -- "if there are any", he deadpans.

Let's check that again: Bloom is filing his lawsuit at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, the Netherlands, asking for "US$1 billion dollars in damages on behalf of future generations of human beings on Earth."

Bloom said he is filing the lawsuit with the help of a team of pro bono international lawyers to sue -- according to the proposed lawsuit's language -- "all world leaders for intent to commit manslaughter against future generations of human beings by allowing murderous amounts of fossil fuels to be harvested, burned and sent into the atmosphere as CO2, causing possible apocalyptic harm to the Earth's ecosystem and the very future of the human species."

That's strong language, and while it's likely not one giant step for humankind, Bloom says it's another "public wake-up call about the dangers of climate change and global warming pose for the future of the human species."

The 60-year-old climate activist is not kidding. While asking for damages of US$1 billion, Bloom says he and his team plan to donate any damages granted by the court to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- winner of the Novel Prize for Peace in 2007, along with green campaigner Al Gore -- and other groups fighting climate change -- "before it is too late".

The lawsuit, if is accepted by the court, will be the first of its kind to lobby for the welfare and very existence of future generations of human beings, according Bloom.

"This is not about money," according to a press release issued by Bloom's legal team in Boston. "This is about trying to protect future generations of mankind, humankind, and a positive judgment in this case will help prod more people to take the issues of climate change and global warming more seriously. We fully intend to make all world leaders of today responsible for their actions in the present day and age."

When asked what the likelihood of such a class action lawsuit being heard by the court in the Hague, a representative of the legal team said: "It's up to the court to decide whether this case has any merit. We fully expect the court to agree to at least hear the case and make a responsible and measured decision later."

The ICC currently has 108 member nations and was set up in 1998. It began hearing cases in 2002 and was established as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression, although it cannot currently exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression.

Don Quixote, move over. A global class action lawsuit against global warmings is now making headlines around the world, and not everyone is laughing. Bloom admits that many people "are laughing", but insists that he is "sincere in trying to issue this wake up call about the dangers of climate change".

A psychiatrist at a teaching hospital in the midwest said, when asked about this lawsuit: "What an ingenious idea. Although I have
no knowledge about whether this could ever have any practical merit,
it certainly has psychological merit. One of the main psychological challenges of climate change is to make it seem more immediate and important to people."