近日，七名德国居民以空气污染侵犯人权为由起诉德国政府，要求政府采取行动。据悉，德国的空气污染水平经常远超世界卫生组织建议的上限，但是以此为由起诉政府的个人行为在德国尚属首例。

 

A group of German residents are suing their government over "dangerously" high air pollution levels.

一群德国居民以空气污染水平达到“危险的”高度为由起诉本国政府。

 

They claim their right to breathe clean and healthy air is being violated, and that the government is failing to protect their health.

他们声称自己呼吸清洁健康空气的权利被侵犯了，而政府未能保护他们的身体健康。

 

Like many countries, Germany's air pollution levels often far exceed World Health Organization limits.

和许多国家一样，德国的空气污染水平经常远超世界卫生组织建议的上限。

 

Globally, air pollution is associated with seven million premature deaths a year.

在全球范围内，空气污染每年导致700万人过早死亡。

 

It is the first time individuals in Germany have taken such action citing human rights legislation.

这是个体首次在德国以人权立法为名采取这种行动。

 

The case comes after one of the EU's top lawyers, the advocate general to the European Court of Justice, said in May that citizens could take such action to try to win compensation.

此前，欧盟的顶级律师之一、欧洲法院总顾问在5月表示，公民应采取这种行为来获得补偿。

 

The group of seven claimants, which includes parents acting on behalf of children, say their health is at risk and politicians are failing to protect them. A number of them have asthma.

七名起诉人组成的团队表示，他们的健康受到威胁，而政界人士未能保护他们。起诉人当中有代表孩子发起诉讼的父母，其中几位起诉人患有哮喘。

 

They live in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf - four of German's seven biggest cities- and claim they are breathing air with concentrations of pollution four to five times higher than the WHO's acceptable limits.

这些人住在柏林、慕尼黑、法兰克福和杜塞尔多夫——德国七大城市中的四个。他们声称自己呼吸的空气的污染浓度比世卫组织规定的安全空气上限高出四到五倍。

 

Volker Becker-Battaglia lives in Munich, on one of Germany's most polluted streets. "Air pollution is a problem you can't see. It's not in people's minds, but it's a killer," he told BBC News.

来自慕尼黑的福尔克尔·贝克-巴塔利亚就居住在德国污染最严重的一条街道上。他告诉BBC新闻说：“空气污染是你看不见的问题。人们意识不到空气污染的危害，但空气污染却可以杀死人。”

 

"About 150,000 people drive their cars in front of our house every day, it's horrible. We flee the city whenever we can," he explains.

他解释道：“每天大约有15万人在我们的房子前开车经过，这太可怕了。无论何时，只要有机会，我们就会逃离这座城市。”

 

Constanze, from Düsseldorf, who prefers to use her first name only to protect her privacy, said she is taking part in the case for her two children.

为保护隐私不愿透露姓氏的来自杜塞尔多夫的康斯坦丝表示，她参与这一诉讼是为了她的两个孩子。

 

"They deserve to grow up healthy. Living in a city should not condemn them to getting sick because of air pollution, and carrying its impacts with them for the rest of their lives."

她说：“孩子们值得在健康的环境中成长。他们不应该因为住在城市里就不得不呼吸污染的空气，为此生病并在余生都受其影响。”

 

Germany's air pollution levels are in line with the country's own law, but the claimants say the law must change to reflect growing scientific consensus.

德国的污染水平符合本国法规，但是起诉人表示应该对法规进行修改以反映出日趋一致的科学共识。

 

The case is filed in Germany's constitutional court that protects citizens' fundamental human rights. The claimants are not suing for financial compensation, but for the government to take action.

这一诉讼在保护公民基本人权的德国联邦宪法法院立案。起诉人不要求获得经济补偿，而是要求政府采取行动。

 

It comes after a series of cases and rulings in Europe on air pollution.

欧洲此前也发生过一系列和空气污染有关的案件和判决。

 

In 2020, nine-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah became the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death. She lived near a busy road in London and died of an asthma attack.

2020年，9岁的埃拉·阿杜-基西-德布拉成为英国空气污染致死的第一人。她住在伦敦一条繁忙的街道附近，死于哮喘病发作。

 

France's government was ordered to pay a €10m fine in 2021 over failures to improve air quality.

2021年，法国政府因无力改善空气质量而被判处支付1000万欧元的罚款。