UN Human Rights Council recognizes access to a clean and healthy environment as a fundamental right, formally adding its weight to the global fight against climate change and its devastating consequences.
The resolution, first discussed in the 1990s, is not legally binding but has the potential to shape global standards.Arif Ali / AFP - Getty ImagesGENEVA — The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday recognized access to a clean and healthy environment as a fundamental right, formally adding its weight to the global fight against climate change and its devastating consequences.
“This has life-changing potential in a world where the global environmental crisis causes more than nine million premature deaths every year,” said David Boyd, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, who called the decision a “historic breakthrough”. Critics had raised various objections, saying the Council was not the appropriate forum and citing legal concerns.
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