The new right to climate action in India – Sustainability News

By Harshita Kaur

The guiding principles of state policy, as enshrined in the Constitution of India, are the essential elements that will help our democratic country achieve an inclusive, equitable welfare state. Increasingly favorable legal interpretations gave impetus to the implementation of the guiding principles of state policy, which are now more than an ideal guideline, but become instruments of the citizens to achieve their implementation to improve their lives.

Looking back to 1949, climate action did not seem to be part of the right to life or guiding principles of state policy. The scientific knowledge of the time could not visualize gravity of increasing CO2 emissions that accelerated with the passage of time. As climate change has become a threat to the survival of life on Earth, climate action and its associated vulnerability have affected every habitat in one way or another. In this context, the Supreme Court’s statement that “people have the right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change” in a recent judgment delivered in March 2024 has come as a timely assertive injunction. This right has emerged as the culmination of a case related to the talk of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB), whose verdict was eagerly awaited by many conservationists and activists.

Climate change is seen around the world as an inexplicable change. And India has made a conscious contribution to the global conversations to work towards climate action. The government at the Center and the states have drawn up action plans with the help of laws and missions that aim to protect the environment in some way or the other. The Environment (Protection) Act 1986, or the number of projects under the National Mission for Sustainable Habitat (NMSH), these government policies, rules and regulations have recognized the adverse effects of climate change.

The Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the UNFCCC are intended to enhance the country’s contribution to achieving the strengthening of the global response to the threat of change under the Paris Agreement. India’s NDCs have set quantitative targets for using non-renewable energy, reducing emissions and providing forest and tree cover, with the aim of achieving India’s long-term goal of achieving net zero by 2070. The updated NDCs also focus on “lifestyle for the environment” and this Supreme Court judgment reaffirms India’s commitment to combating climate change.

What changes this assessment of the negative consequences of climate change will bring to us as citizens is of paramount importance. Despite the plethora of decisions on the right to a clean environment and the recognition of climate change as a serious threat, the statement that people can exercise this right to be free from climate misfortunes has yet to be made clear. The nationally determined objectives had to be individually determined and placed in the context of a citizen’s life.

Every citizen of India has the right to life (Article 21) and right to equality (Article 14), and the original civil jurisdiction of the Supreme Court has very clearly affirmed the inclusivity of climate change impacts under both articles. The vagaries of climate change have inevitably affected the right to health due to direct and indirect impacts of air pollution, rising temperatures, climate hazards, etc. Not a single section of Indian societies remains unaffected by these persistent problems. The violation of these rights can be felt in the inability of vulnerable communities to adapt to or even cope with climate change at their own pace.

The implications for the right to equality are also evident across India’s diverse geography and range of vulnerable populations. For example, citizens living on Indian islands or coastal areas are more vulnerable to the effects of sea level rise and oceanic problems. Similarly, tribal and indigenous communities are losing their habitat and culture due to the destruction of forests and land, leading to their displacement. Climate change could therefore have a negative impact on the constitutional guarantee of these rights.

The Supreme Court has also declared that this right is an indication that the Constitution recognizes the importance of the natural world. Article 48A “which provides for the protection and improvement of the environment and for the safe protection of the forests and wildlife of the country” and Article 51A “which stipulates the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment ” are Instructions for the state’s tools to prioritize climate action considerations. Widespread global climate action initiatives, such as the 2015 United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report, also outline human rights obligations related to climate action, including both mitigation and adaptation efforts. The right to a healthy environment and the right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change have emerged under the broader umbrella of India’s mission to combat climate change, coupled with India’s commitment under international treaties, giving importance to solar energy as a source of renewable energy and the climate change lawsuits in other jurisdictions.

Recently, Europe’s highest human rights court ruled in favor of more than 2,000 Swiss women, who argued that their government’s climate inaction puts them at risk of death from the heat wave. The vulnerability of these women due to gender and age was duly taken into account in the ruling that justified the claim against the Swiss government. In another case, a Kiribati resident appealed to the refugee status court in New Zealand however, on the grounds of sea level rise due to climate change, the claim was unsuccessful.

Significantly, the nuances surrounding these rights require more deliberation, but it is undoubtedly a landmark case by the Supreme Court pushing for the constitutional courts as avenues to litigate climate issues through the ‘new’ right to be free from adverse impacts of climate. change. It is a good step forward in paving the way for climate equality as it provides opportunities for vulnerable people across the country to have the impacts of climate action recognized and worked on by their respective governments.

The author is Project Associate, Transport and Urban Governance Division at the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

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