Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • COMMENT

Why farmers are beginning to take their government to court over climate change

How a Swiss lawsuit is recasting agriculture’s role in climate policy.
By
  1. Charlotte E. Blattner

    1. Charlotte E. Blattner is an associate professor at the Centre of Public Law, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and head of the research group on climate law at the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Switzerland.

  2. Robert Finger

    1. Robert Finger is a professor of agricultural economics and policy at ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.

  3. Karin Ingold

    1. Karin Ingold is a professor of policy analysis and environmental governance (PEGO) at the Institute of Political Science, University of Bern, and is president of the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern.

Farmers suing their government for failing to act on climate change might sound surprising — we’re more used to seeing convoys of tractors in the streets with farmers protesting the imposition of climate and sustainability policies. But that’s just what’s happening in Switzerland — a country where average temperature increases have already hit 2.8 °C compared with preindustrial times.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 637, 1050-1052 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00222-z

References

  1. Bray, D. & Poston, T. M. Columbia J. Environ. Law 49, 145–248 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. IPCC. In Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (eds Shukla, P. R. et al.) 3–48 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2023).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Crippa, M. et al. Nature Food 2, 198–209 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Eisen, M. B. & Brown, P. O. PLOS Clim. 1, e0000010 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Wollenberg, E. et al. Glob. Change Biol. 22, 3859–3864 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Trnka, M. et al. Nature Clim. Change 4, 637–643 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Ortiz-Bobea, A., Ault, T. R., Carrillo, C. M., Chambers, R. G. & Lobell, D. B. Nature Clim. Change 11, 306–312 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Auffhammer, M. J. Econ. Perspect. 32, 33–52 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Blattner, C. & Ammann, O. J. Food Law Policy 15, 92–151 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Levandowski, R. Georgetown Environ. Law Rev. 33, 151–171 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Schebesta, H. & Candel, J. J. L. Nature Food 1, 586–588 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Finger, R. et al. EuroChoices 23, 59–63 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Blattner, C. E. et al. Nature 621, 255–257 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Keller, H. & Gurash, V. J. Hum. Rights Environ. 14, 194–218 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Huber, R., El Benni, N. & Finger, R. Bio-based Appl. Econ. 13, 121–146 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links