A human right to a healthy environment?
Rachel O’Connell
Lewis Carr
Group agreement
Creating an equitable space: We want to create a space where everyone feels comfortable, can learn and engage and is free from discrimination.
Aims and agenda
Know: Understand what a human right to a healthy environment is, how it could help, and what a new Environmental Rights Act could do.
Do: Spread the word over Spring, and take the call for an Environmental Rights Act through the General Election and beyond.
Feel: More confident talking about why a legal right to a healthy environment could make a real difference.
A human right to a healthy environment?
Aims and agenda
A human right to a healthy environment?
Icebreaker
What in your daily environment makes you happy?
Flowers you see on the way to work
Having a cozy work from home set up
A human right to a healthy environment?
Human rights in law: the impact…
A human right to a healthy environment?
When new laws are proposed…
They’re meant to be in line with human rights
When public bodies implement / make decisions…
They must act in ways compatible with rights
When people’s human rights are impacted…
They can challenge this in court (and may get a remedy)
The government may be pressured to legislate to resolve incompatibility
A (very) potted history
1998
Human Rights Act – puts EU convention rights into UK law (i.e. right to life, liberty, family)
1998
Aarhus convention – “...the protection of the right of every person... to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well-being, each Party shall guarantee the rights of access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters.”
2021
UN Human Rights Council adopts a resolution recognising ‘the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment’ as a ‘human right that is important for the enjoyment of human rights.’
2022
UN General Assembly adopts the resolution recognising the same 'right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment’
2024
Right to a Healthy Environment in some state & national constitutions, Scottish consultation on an Act, but government still resistant to giving legal basis across the UK.
The international picture
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In Hawaii, a court case is underway to consider whether the state transport system is being run in a way that harms the ability of people to ‘live healthful lives in Hawaii now and into the future’.
In 2017 and 2022, South African charities successfully stopped coal power stations from being built, following legal cases which referenced the constitutional right to a healthy environment.
In Montana, a judge recently ruled that the state was violating its citizens’ constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment” by allowing continued fossil fuel development without considering its effect on the climate.
In 2016, indigenous communities in Colombia challenged the government over failure to prevent illegal mining polluting the Atrato River. The court agreed that this endangered their right to a healthy environment and ordered action.
What a new act could do
A human right to a healthy environment?
Drafting a new Environmental Rights Act
A human right to a healthy environment?
A human right to a healthy environment?
Drafting a new Environmental Rights Act
A new law sets out targets or obligations
New laws would need to comply with ERA in the same way as other human rights
A new law sets out targets or obligations
New laws would need to comply with ERA in the same way as other human rights
Government *should* meet requirements in the new law
ERA would ensure that the government meets these requirements in a way which considers securing a healthy environment, and does not take any action that makes the environment less healthy.
Local public authorities *should* contribute to implementing
ERA would ensure that implementation happened in a way that secures a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
A new law sets out targets or obligations
New laws would need to comply with ERA in the same way as other human rights
Government *should* meet requirements in the new law
Local public authorities *should* contribute to implementing
ERA would ensure that implementation happened in a way that secures a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
ERA would ensure that the government meets these requirements in a way which considers securing a healthy environment, and does not take any action that makes the environment less healthy.
People *should* have routes to engage with / challenge development or implementation
ERA gives all people the information needed to participate or challenge
ERA gives all impacted people a route to take action where the environment is (still) unhealthy
A new law sets out targets or obligations
New laws would need to comply with ERA in the same way as other human rights
A human right to a healthy environment?
Government *should* meet requirements in the new law
ERA would ensure that the government meets these requirements in a way which considers securing a healthy environment, and does not take any action that makes the environment less healthy.
Local public authorities *should* contribute to implementing
ERA would ensure that implementation happened in a way that secures a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
People *should* have routes to engage with / challenge development or implementation
ERA gives all people the information needed to participate or challenge
ERA gives all impacted people a route to take action where the environment is (still) unhealthy
Better outcomes for environment and people
What is a healthy environment?
And who could it benefit?
A healthy environment…
Clean air
Healthy biodiversity and ecosystems
Safe climate
Safe water and sanitation
The natural environment
Healthy, safe food
Safe building products
Healthy, safe housing
The consumer environment
Appropriate locations
Safety from hazards (i.e. floods)
Non-toxic environments
The built environment
Joe the parent…
“There is loads of illegal waste dumping in front of my estate, where all the kids play. The housing provider and council haven’t taken any action on the issue and rates of illegal dumping have gone up all over the borough.
I’m worried about whether it is safe to play there now, potential toxins in the rubbish, vermin and the impact on the environment.”
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Sam the nature lover…
“Research has shown that my area contains some of the poorest environment in England.
There is a local strategy for delivering the environmental improvement plan where I live, but the council keep cancelling funding and activities needed to make it happen.
This means that nature will suffer, and my community will continue to experience an unhealthy environment.”
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Ahmed the nature lover…
Lee the renter…
“My new rented home has damp, is hard to heat and is unsuitable for more sustainable and cheaper approaches. It is making me ill.
This has happened because the authority did not set minimum standards effectively, and decided to approve a design which was not energy efficient. They are now failing to take enforcement action.”
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Sarah the asthmatic…
“My local planning authority has decided to allow a new road bypass in my area.
Studies suggest it will decrease air quality on my street and could exacerbate my asthma, but the authority has not changed its mind.”
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Progress so far
What we’ve been up to
A human right to a healthy environment?
EXCLUSIVE: spring/summer plans
A human right to a healthy environment?
The vision
Winter 2023
Spread awareness of Right to a Healthy Environment across NGO sector
Spring 2024
Increase public awareness of the concept of a healthy vs an unhealthy environment, and how it affects them.
Spring – Summer 2024
Develop a ‘register of public support’ for an Environmental Rights Act (ERA). Engage the public in collecting data on the status of their local environment
Autumn 2024
Make the ERA an election issue, ensure that the next government feels pressure to take some action
2025
Equip supporters with the tools to show their new MP how an unhealthy environment affects their constituency and build backbench support
2026
The government introduces an Environmental Rights Bill
Things you could do…
A human right to a healthy environment?
Over to you