Last week, the lower house of the Swiss parliament rejected a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that ordered Switzerland to take stronger measures against climate change (BBC, Reuters). In April, the court held that the city of Bern had violated the human rights of a group of older Swiss women by failing to address climate change. 

Last week, the European Court of Human Rights made a significant ruling, holding countries must do more to protect their citizens from the effects of climate change (AP, Reuters).

Swiss citizens will get the chance to vote on a complete ban on the use of synthetic pesticides. More than 100,000 Swiss signed the call for a ban that would apply to all farmers, industries and imported foods. If the vote is passed, Switzerland would become only the second country after Bhutan to implement a full ban. Just a few weeks ago, the EU agreed to a near-total ban on the use of neonicotinoids, the most widely used class of insecticides in the world.