Nine-year-old girl sues Indian govt over failure to tackle climate change

Pandey wants the government to save the planet for future generations

Ridhima Pandey, a nine-year-old girl, has filed a court case against the Indian government for failing to take steps to fight the effects of climate change, according to The Independent.

Her lawyer told The Independent she was a “compassionate child” who wanted her elected representatives to help protect the planet for future generations.

The northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, where Ridhima lives, has been felt the full brunt of climate change recently with heavy rains, flash floods and frequent landslides, in the past three years having killed thousands of people.

Ridhima has argued that India, the world’s third carbon emitter, has failed to put into action the promises it made in signing and ratifying the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Climate change will exacerbate the stress on India’s water sources, and this is forecasted to precipitate major health crises.



The case includes allegations based on India’s constitution, the public trust doctrine, intergenerational equity and the alleged non-implementation of four environmental laws dating back as far back as 1980.

Ridhima knows she must inherit her country’s growing climate disasters which led to her frustration in not being able to participate in the decision-making process.

She is now on a quest to force her government to prevent any further damage until she is old enough to help shape her country’s environmental policies.

“My Government has failed to take steps to regulate and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are causing extreme climate conditions. This will impact both me and future generations.
“My country has huge potential to reduce the use of fossil fuels, and because of the Government’s inaction I approached the National Green Tribunal,” she said.

A petition has been filed in the National Green Tribunal (NGT), a specialised court established in 2010, which specifically caters to environmental cases.

In the petition, Ridhima asks the court to order the government to prepare a carbon budget and a national climate recovery plan to ensure that India does its share to reduce atmospheric CO2 emissions.

Moreover, she wants the political dispensation to move away from fossil fuels, protect forests, grasslands, soil, mangroves, engage in massive reforestation and improve agricultural and forestry practices.

Environmental attorney Rahul Choudhary filed the petition on her behalf and is representing her along with Ritwick Dutta and Meera Gopal.

Choudhary said Ridhima was “simply asking her government to fulfil its own duty to protect the vital natural resources on which she and future generations depend on for survival”.

He told The Independent: “Children in India are now aware of the issues of climate change and its impact. The Indian constitution says that it is ‘the duty of every citizen of India ... to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures’.



He added the case will highlight three important elements including the stall of renewable energy levels, the lack of robust examination of environmental impact statements for polluting projects and the monitoring of reforestation initiatives.