Overview

Since its creation, Notre Affaire à Tous has been developing the first global climate case, urging the French State to respect its environmental and climate commitments. The first act of this case was launched on December 18, 2018 in partnership with the Fondation pour la Nature et l’Homme (Foundation for Nature and Mankind), Greenpeace France, and Oxfam France. It is the Case of the Century.

This case over the French State’s climate inaction aims to have the court recognize the State’s general obligation to act in the fight against climate change to protect the rights of French citizens from the impact climate change has on their lives. With this legal initiative, Notre Affaire à Tous wants to remind the State to respect its own commitments and to maintain pressure on authorities to take immediate, concrete, and ambitious action for the climate.

Citizen movements have proved to be successful in the Netherlands, Pakistan, and Colombia. National jurisdiction reaches out to citizens to protect them and to create a new climate, social, and democratic model. We are part of a true worldwide movement that renews and invents new climate and environmental laws.

Objectives

Our Objectives ? Our goal is for the court torecognize the French State’s responsibilityand order the Prime Minister and relevant ministers to adopt all necessary measures for putting an end to the State’s failures and repair the damage suffered. Through this, we want :

  • To participate in a global movement of legal, social, and civic struggle for the rule of law and the accountability of public authorities
  • To makeFrench courts recognize the duty of protection and vigilance incumbent on the French State and its responsibility to adopt a real climate strategy
  • To urge the French State to adopt all necessary measures for putting an end to its failures and repairing the damage suffered
  • To achievea legal decision in France that would create a precedent and contribute to the global movement of awareness and desire for community and citizen involvement

How ?

We are using all the means we can to give more weight to the case against the French State, brought before the Administrative Court of Paris, to put an end to climate inaction.

This involves both legal and mobilization efforts.

To advance climate justice through both the court’s decision and the case law that will follow, Notre Affaire à Tous is working alongside other Case of the Century organizations to ensure the case makes it to the end of the legal process. Find here all the steps of the legal action of the Case of the Century.

Notre Affaire à Tous is confident thatthe law can be a tool for citizen mobilization. Along with the Case of the Century group, NAAT’s objective is to build and support a community of citizens impacted by climate change while waiting for a government response. Thus, we want to leverage our power to make the State aware of the real consequences of climate inaction for French people. We will carry out these actions to map the impacts of climate change in France in order to alert public authorities of the seriousness of the situation and to make the State respond to our legal recourse, and—above all—to make the State take action.

Our actions

Climate Witness Mapping

Convinced that the law can be a lever for citizen mobilization, the Affaire du Siècle has launcheda mapping of the impacts of climate change in France in order to build and sustain a community of citizens affected by climate change. The objective is to alert the public authorities on the seriousness of the situation and the concrete consequences for the French people of its climate inaction, and especially that it acts.

 

The legal action of the Affaire du Siècle

State inaction is illegal ! The state is obliged to respect its national, European and international commitments and to protect its citizens’ human rights. However, France is far from reaching its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. This is why we are suing the state for climate inaction. Summary motion, supplementary brief, State’s response, find here all the steps of the legal procedure to understand everything about this unprecedented appeal !

Nos videos

Launch of the Case of the Century

Climate Witness

Disruption Day

Our resources

You, too, can take action: join us!

We are calling on organizations of all kinds and sizes to join us, including environmental and solidarity groups as well as trade unions and intermediary organizations.

We are also calling on citizens to join us by signing our petition and supporting us in the legal proceedings. Because it is an effective action, and climate justice is a people’s aspiration, this is in our common interest. The more people join us, the more powerful we will be to demand that the State take action.

Join those who are already helping us and support the Case of the Century!

All our actions are possible because of your support. THANK YOU!

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OUR OTHER ACTIONS