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Climate change protest at bank 'necessary and proportional': Swiss judge

Tuesday, 14 January 2020 12:39 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 14 January 2020 12:45 AM ]

The imminent danger posed by climate change means activists were not guilty of trespassing when they occupied a Swiss bank and played tennis to demand an end to funding of fossil fuel projects, a judge ruled on Monday (January 13).

Irene Wettstein, a lawyer defending one of the activists called the ruling "historic. "Wearing whites and wigs, a group of young people staged the tennis sit-in at the Lausanne branch of Credit Suisse in November 2018 to highlight their campaign and urge Swiss maestro Roger Federer to end his sponsorship deal with the bank.

The activists were charged with trespassing and fined 21,600 Swiss francs ($22,200), but in their appeal hearing on Monday Judge Philippe Colelough said they had acted proportionately and waived the fine.

The activists had argued they were in the bank in the face of an "imminent danger" and the judge agreed, retaining the "lawful state of necessity", pointing to the country's melting glaciers.

Pressure is rising on Switzerland's financial sector to divest from fossil fuels and thousands of students have marched through Swiss cities in recent months demanding action on climate change.

The country, which is warming at twice the global average due to the heat-trapping effects of its mountains, has a target to cut net carbon emissions to zero by 2050 but activists say that the country's biggest impact is via the financial centre.

(Source: Reuters)

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