Sitting in his wheelchair, Austria’s Mex Milner describes the recent heat wave that has swept Europe as “really serious”, which has strengthened his decision to take his country to the European Court of Human Rights accusing it of violating his human rights.
The 40-year-old suffers from multiple sclerosis, accompanied by Uhthoff syndrome, which is often associated with the condition and causes his neurological symptoms to worsen temporarily when his body temperature rises.
It targets a conviction of Austria for climate inaction, one of several climate justice cases before the European courts and possibly one of the most important.
Milner’s life literally turns upside down once the temperature rises.
At 25°C his mobility deteriorates and he can no longer walk and above 30°C he is almost paralyzed and has to use an electric wheelchair.
With MS, which affects the nervous system, “when it’s hot, the speed of nerve conduction slows down and, as a result, the signals no longer reach the muscles and the movements I would like to do no longer happen,” explains the former energy consultant.
Milner arranged to meet the AFP journalist in the shade of a tree in a park in the small town of Lower Austria (eastern Austria) where he has built a passive house (S.t.S.: an extremely energy-efficient building that reduces heating and cooling needs by up to 90%, maintaining a constant temperature), designed to maintain 20°C all year round.
“Important issue”
In his application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), filed in April 2021, he argues that Austria has not put in place an adequate legislative framework to limit global warming and protect vulnerable people like himself.
He also criticizes the Austrian judicial system for not offering any solution.
If Strasbourg rules in his favor, he will be the first person to be recognized as a direct victim of the consequences of climate change, his lawyer, Michaela Kremer, points out, opening the way for other possible cases in the 46 countries under the ECtHR’s jurisdiction.
The decision “also has implications for the climate policy of the European Union, of which Austria is a member”, she estimates.
“This is an important issue for the Court,” adds Kremer, who believes that this is undoubtedly why it has taken so long, especially since it has already issued a historic ruling against Switzerland two years ago.
Switzerland was the first state to be condemned by the ECtHR for human rights violations due to its climate inaction, following a complaint by the “Older Women for Climate Protection” association.
However, the Court refused to recognize the four plaintiffs as victims.
Milner’s case is precisely aimed at pushing the Court further and recognizing his right, as an individual, to hold his country accountable.
He keeps his address secret to protect himself from possible hostile reactions like those experienced by the “Old Women for Climate Protection” and does not claim that Austria is doing nothing, but believes that it is “doing very little”.
“The government should do more and it could,” he says, hoping his actions will benefit others facing similar difficulties.
The only way forward, according to him, “is to control global warming.”
“I don’t want the Austrian state to install an air conditioner in my house or anything like that. I want a solution that protects the world. A solution that makes the planet a habitable place for humanity”, he concludes.
Source: RES – BEE