The United Nations Human Rights Council declared access to a clean and healthy environment a fundamental right on Friday, thereby joining the worldwide fight against climate change and its terrible effects.
Despite objections from certain nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom, the vote was carried with massive support.
Although the resolution, which was initially proposed in the 1990s, is not legally enforceable, it has the potential to influence global standards. It may help lawyers construct arguments in disputes involving the environment and human rights, according to lawyers involved in climate litigation.
“In a world where the global environmental catastrophe causes more than nine million premature lives per year,” said UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment David Boyd, who hailed the judgment as a “historic breakthrough.”
Costa Rica, the Maldives, Morocco, Slovenia, and Switzerland presented the document, which was approved with 43 votes in favor and four abstentions from Russia, India, China, and Japan at the Geneva forum, prompting a rare round of applause.
