Courts worldwide increasingly recognise climate action as a human right
climate activists have increasingly turned to courts to precipitate climate action. They want recognition of climate action as intrinsic as safeguarding constitutional and human rights.
Starting with courts in the Netherlands, Australia, the US and Germany, and, more recently, European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and India’s Supreme Court — in its recent decision to include the adverse impact of climate change as a part of fundamental rights — judicial verdicts have held that governments are dutybound to enact and enforce suitable laws to protect present and future generations from the adverse effects of climate change.
Citizen-led judicial activism, particularly from vulnerable and interest groups, reflects a rising public consciousness that governments’ failure to take timely and resolute climate action is a human rights issue. With constitutional courts upholding this position, climate action by the state is no longer a choice but an imperative.
These proactive measures by courts have come due to two key reasons:
Failed international efforts
While the concept of sustainable development and environmental awareness has roots spanning several decades, cohesive global endeavours to address this existential threat collectively have been conspicuously lacking, often failing to meet expectations even upon implementation. Despite initiatives such as the 2015 Paris Agreement, providing a clear framework for nations to embark on climate action, they have frequently encountered obstacles like whataboutery and
