Biodiversity loss, species extinction, climate change and the general degradation of the world's ecosystems have a profound global impact on the enjoyment of human rights. Climate change is a human rights issue as the climate crisis exacerbates inequalities.
Human rights and the environment are intrinsically intertwined: a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is essential in the enjoyment of our human rights.
On 28 July 2022, the United Nations General Assembly declared that everyone on the planet has a right to a healthy environment. This landmark decision is the result of decades of mobilisation of various stakeholders. States must now implement their commitments and scale up their efforts.
Legal recognition in the UN treaties International human rights law does not guarantee the right to a clean and safe environment. UN human rights treaties – most of which were adopted before environmental protection came under the focus of international attention – do not explicitly endorse this right, but some make indirect references to it.
The 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides in its Article 12 for the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, and calls on states parties to take steps to improve all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene. The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child provides that states parties shall take appropriate measures to combat disease and malnutrition through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution (Article 24).
UN human rights treaty bodies, through their case law or other declarations, have driven a 'greening' of human rights by arguing that many human rights, such as the right to life, private life, health, water and property, depend on a healthy environment.
Environmental Education and Social Innovation
Social innovation can tackle environmental challenges and is proving popular in this domain. There are a number of environmental drivers that are already instigating social innovations, such as waste issues, transport and pollution problems, as well as declines in biodiversity and degradation of ecosystem services, for example, pollination and flood protection by wetlands. Although these drivers are environmental they have social repercussions, such as health problems caused by air pollution, resource depletion due to inefficient waste disposal, exacerbation of flooding from damage to natural defensies and food insecurity and agricultural issues exacerbated by poor soil quality or lack of pollination. In other words, societal and environmental issues are often interlinked and mutual solutions are possible.