Environmental rights
Topic: Political Theory: Freedom and Rights · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 5 "Rights"
Meaning
Environmental rights are newer human-rights claims to clean air, clean water and sustainable development. They grew from the awareness that nature must be protected for people today and for future generations. In 2022 the UN General Assembly recognised a right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (Res. 76/300). In India, courts read this right into Art. 21, the right to life. Arts. 48A and 51A(g) also ask the state and citizens to protect the environment.
Example
In Subhash Kumar (1991), the Supreme Court held that the right to life includes the right to pollution-free water and air. In M.K. Ranjitsinh (2024), it recognised a right against the harmful effects of climate change.
Don't confuse with
- Common good: these are shared resources, such as clean air, forests and the ozone layer, that everyone must protect. Environmental rights are each person's claims to a healthy environment. Protecting the common good is a duty that comes with those rights.