A climate activist group said on Friday it has filed a second lawsuit against the Swedish state over alleged climate inaction, a year after the country’s Supreme Court dismissed a similar case.
The group, Aurora, first attempted legal action against the Swedish government in late 2022. However, Sweden’s Supreme Court ruled in February 2025 that the case — filed by one individual and joined by around 300 others as a class action — was inadmissible, citing the “very high requirements” for individuals to bring such claims against the state.
Despite the setback, Aurora said it had now lodged a fresh lawsuit with the Stockholm District Court.
“We still have a chance to get out of the planetary crises and build a safe and fair world. But this requires that rich countries that emit as much as Sweden stop breaking the law,” Aurora spokesperson Ida Edling said in a statement.
The group argues that Sweden is legally obligated to slash its greenhouse gas emissions far more rapidly to meet its “fair share” of global climate responsibility. According to Aurora, this would require emissions in several sectors to fall to zero before 2030 — 15 years earlier than Sweden’s current target timeline.
Sweden has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2045, but the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned last year that the country risks missing that goal.
Aurora said recent developments in international law strengthen its case. It pointed to a landmark April 2024 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that Switzerland had failed to take sufficient action to combat climate change — the first time a country was condemned by an international court for inadequate climate measures.
The group also cited a 2025 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, which stated that countries violating their climate obligations were committing an “unlawful” act.
Aurora said these rulings underscore the growing legal responsibility of governments to act decisively on climate change.
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