Recognizing the Right to a Healthy Environment at the Council of Europe: Why Does it Matter?

Abstract

Between 2021 and 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council and the General Assembly passed resolutions explicitly acknowledging the 'right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment'. These recognitions align with developments in the regional human rights frameworks that already enshrined this right. In the wake of these developments, the Council of Europe stands as an exception: it is the sole regional human rights system which has not yet formally acknowledged this right. This article examines the ongoing efforts to incorporate the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment into the human rights framework established with the European Convention on Human Rights. It provides an overview of the progress made so far and the challenges which continue to obstruct the path toward recognition.