Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

International law

Enabling the right to a healthy environment

Recent recognition of the human right to a healthy environment by the United Nations can facilitate a shift in climate policy and shape climate litigation. Now, a recent study discusses these benefits and the potential to assist social movements in garnering political pressure towards stronger climate action.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. The Human Right to A Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment A/RES/76/300 (UNGA, 2022).

  2. In historic move, UN declares healthy environment a human right. UNEP (28 July 2022); https://go.nature.com/3BmIMWF

  3. Walker, S. Alt. Law J. https://doi.org/10.1177/1037969X221114216 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. The Human Right To A Clean, Healthy And Sustainable Environment A/HRC/RES/48/13 (UNHRC, 2021).

  5. Boyd, D. The Environmental Rights Revolution: A Global Study of Constitutions, Human Rights, and the Environment (University of British Columbia Press, 2012).

  6. Boyd, D. in The Human Right to a Healthy Environment (eds Knox, J. H. & Pejan, R.) 17–41 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2018).

  7. Smieszek, M. Three cheers for evolving new rights: a healthy environment, international solidarity, and climate refugee protection. GNHRE (11 August 2022); https://go.nature.com/3euqSrI

  8. Fuguitt, D. & Felice, W. F. Human Rights and Public Goods: The Global New Deal (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).

  9. Savaresi, A. & Setzer, J. JHRE 13, 7–34 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Atapattu, S. Human Rights Approaches to Climate Change (Routledge, 2015).

  11. Jodoin, S., Savaresi, A. & Wewerinke-Singh, M. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain. 52, 45–53 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Vanhala, L. Law Soc. Rev. 46, 523–556 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wewerinke-Singh, M. Enabling the right to a healthy environment. Nat. Clim. Chang. 12, 885–886 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01487-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01487-2

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing