The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has proposed the drafting of a legally binding instrument recognising the autonomous right to a healthy environment, guaranteeing substantive and procedural rights. It proposes that this would be done at Council of Europe level and should give due consideration to present and future generations, and provide for a monitoring mechanism to which young people can contribute.
Protecting the right to a future
“When we criminalise the most serious environmental offences, when we hold corporations and individuals accountable for ecological destruction, we are not merely protecting nature. We are protecting human rights. We are protecting the right to life, the right to health, the right to a future,’ said Parliamentary Assembly President Petra Bayr, opening the debate.
“I want us to move, together, towards a binding convention on the right to a safe, healthy and sustainable environment. Not a declaration. Nor a recommendation. A plain treaty, with binding commitments behind it. Because a right without robust implementation mechanisms is only a wish,” she emphasised.
The resolution adopted by Parliamentary Assembly on the basis of the report by Aurora Floridia (Italy, SOC), states that “Europe is the fastest-warming continent“, and that this climate change poses a direct threat to the planet’s habitability – the primary condition for life and thus the starting point of all other human rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and the revised European Social Charter. “Without a liveable climate, accessible water, clean air and working ecosystems, human rights and the freedoms and dignity they rely on are merely abstract concepts,” the parliamentarians said.
Contribution, not tokenism
The resolution underlines the need to mobilise young people’s creativity, social engagement and skills to address climate change. This does not mean tokenistic consultations; young people should contribute to the formulation, arbitration and monitoring of climate policies, including their economic, tax and financial dimensions, the adopted text says.
Calling for accelerated climate action, the resolution proposes a set of measures and, in particular, calls on European countries to “enshrine in their laws and climate plans ambitious targets that are compatible with human rights and accompanied by deadlines, monitoring, corrective measures”.
The Parliamentary Assembly also welcomed the adoption of the 2024 Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers on young people and climate action – the first international instrument dedicated to this issue – and called on member states to implement it without delay.
Among those who made statements at the debate were Michael O'Flaherty, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights; Kamal Kishore, Head of the United Nations Office for disaster risk reduction; Emilie Tamo Kamguia, member of the Council of Europe advisory council on youth; and Benjamin Van Bunderen Robberechts, founder of Climate Justice for Rosa.
