Needed: A societal awakening to take on climate change
A Supreme Court ruling connected with the survival of the endangered Great Indian Bustard species on 6 April 2024 stated: “ … the people have a right against the adverse effects of climate change … this right and the right to a clean environment are two sides of the same coin.... The inability of underserved communities to adapt to climate change or cope with its effects violates the right to life as well as the right to equality… If climate change and environmental degradation lead to acute food and water shortages in a particular area, poorer communities will suffer more than richer ones." This game-changing jurisprudence, recognizing protection against the adverse impacts of climate change as worthy of being considered a fundamental human right, came days before a similar ruling by Europe’s top human rights court that the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change.
In various countries where governments are struggling to meet their climate commitments and raise their ambitions, leading to perceptions that their climate responses lack urgency, legal systems are empowering citizens to hold administrations to account. It has been 30 years since The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) came into force (in March 1994), 30 years since India as a member of its governing body has been participating in—and often also leading—international negotiations on various defining principles (such as common but differentiated responsibilities) and mechanisms (for financing action and technology transfers in particular) that continue to evolve as the science of this complex global phenomenon unravels, and 30 years since we had the opportunity
. Read more on livemint.com
