The 203 plaintiffs will submit their lawsuit to Rome's civil court on Saturday. They want the court to order the government, led by the prime minister, Mario Draghi, to adopt more ambitious climate change policies as well as significantly increase its carbon emissions reduction target.

"We are asking the court to recognise that the Italian government is not complying with respect to its obligation to protect the population from climatic change," said Marica Di Pierri, a spokesperson for the environmental organisation A Sud, and its affiliated Giudizio Universale (Last Judgment) campaign. "We also want the court to order Italy to set an emissions-reduction target for 2030 that is three times what it is today."