The Triple Planetary Crisis: A Human Rights Issue
Our planet is facing an unprecedented environmental crisis, driven by three major threats: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution of the air, water, and soil. This crisis endangers the lives, health, and dignity of billions of people worldwide.
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Every year, pollution is responsible for approximately 9 million premature deaths. In 2019 alone, air pollution caused 6.7 million deaths, while water pollution and lead exposure resulted in 1.4 million and 900,000 premature deaths, respectively. Additionally, hundreds of millions suffer from diseases linked to environmental degradation, while billions face the devastating effects of climate change, including more frequent and intense storms, prolonged droughts, uncontrolled wildfires, and rising sea levels.
Human Rights: A Powerful Tool for Environmental Protection
As David R. Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, has emphasized, history has shown that human rights can be a powerful force for transformative change. Major social movements, including the abolition of slavery, the fight for civil rights, and the recognition of Indigenous and disability rights, have successfully driven profound societal change by relying on the principles of freedom, equality, and justice.
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One might ask: why focus on human rights when it is often human activity that destroys nature? Why not prioritize nature itself? This strategic approach is based on an undeniable reality: by integrating human rights into the fight for environmental protection, we leverage institutions, legal processes, and courts to hold governments accountable for their environmental commitments. This approach does not conflict with recent advances in recognizing the rights of nature. On the contrary, it builds upon the growing momentum of environmental rights at the international and regional levels to increase pressure on governments and establish strong legal obligations for environmental protection and restoration.
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In this section, we highlight some of the most fundamental environmental rights. Environmental rights, also known as green rights, are a crucial subset of human rights that recognize the fundamental connection between a healthy environment and human well-being. These rights must be recognized as universal human rights and enshrined in a legally binding framework to ensure better protection of the environment and public health.
