2021 Right Livelihood Laureate Vladimir Slivyak is sending a letter to the European Court of Human Rights calling on the Court not to ignore the Russian Climate Case and to ensure it is heard.
Filed on 31 August 2023, Ecodefense, Moscow Helsinki Group and Others v. Russia (No. 9296/24) challenges Russia’s climate policies and the human rights harms linked to them. The case is distinctive in that it directly addresses Russia’s stated intention to increase, rather than reduce, greenhouse gas emissions up to 2030 and beyond. It also documents the impacts of Arctic permafrost melt and high-level methane events originating from Russian territory on the rights to life, health and cultural survival, with particularly severe consequences for Indigenous communities.
Slivyak’s letter is backed by fellow Right Livelihood Laureates from across the world. The signatories underline that the applicants brought this case at major personal risk and have faced reprisals, including organisations being shut down, “foreign agent” designations, exile and loss of citizenship. With the winter recess approaching, they are urging the Court to prioritise the case rather than allow it to be quietly shelved.
Last week, the message was carried to Strasbourg. Slivyak was joined by Arshak Makichyan, a former organiser with Fridays for Future Russia and an Armenian-born climate activist who has faced retaliation, including the loss of citizenship, for his activism. Actions were held across the city to draw public attention to the case and to the cost of delay.
A projection campaign featuring an image of Vladimir Putin and the message “THANK YOU FOR YOUR INACTION” appeared on and around the Court building. Slivyak and Makichyan also gathered outside the Court to speak with passers-by and collect signatures in support of the case.
Right Livelihood Laureates supporting the letter:
- Oleksandra Matviichuk (2022)
- Joan Carling, IPRI (2024)
- Nnimmo Bassey (2010)
- Phyllis Omido (2023)
- Cecosesola (2022)
- Justice for Myanmar (2025)
- Anwar Fazal (1982)
- Anabela Lemos, Justiça Ambiental! (2024)
- Mother Nature Cambodia (2023)
- Raul Montenegro (2004)
- Angie Zelter on behalf of Trident Ploughshares (2001)
- Frances Moore Lappé (1987)
- Juan Pablo Orrego (1998)
- Helen Mack Chang (1992)
- Hunter Lovins (1983)
- Juan E. Garcés (1999)
- Ravindran P, KKSSP (1996)
- Marthe Wandou (2021)
