Court on climate right and how India can enforce it https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/court-on-climate-right-and-how-india-can-enforce-it/article68352441.ece Navroz Dubhash & Others of Climate futures Collaborative July 01, 2024 Also available at https://afeias.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/01-07-24-Newsclips.pdf
Because India is still developing, what the country needs is a law that enables progress toward low-carbon and climate resilient development
One way forward is the slow accretion of judicial decisions around this right. But another is new
legislation to actively realise a right against the adverse effects of climate change. -.. ensuring that the law works effectively within Indian federalism. Many areas relevant to climate action, from urban policy to agriculture and water fall under the authority of sub-national governments — States or local levels, and electricity also is a concurrent subject. ..
Business, civil society and communities, particularly those on the frontlines of climate impacts, have essential knowledge to bring to energy transition and resilience. Finding ways of enabling participation in decision making would enable all these sections of society to bring their knowledge to the table in addressing climate change.
Supreme Court of India bolts Right To Life with climate justice https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/supreme-court-of-india-bolts-right-to-life-with-climate-justice/109874429 The recent Supreme Court of India judgment M K Ranjitsinh & Ors. v. Union of India reads in the right against climate change to protect the rights to life, health, food, water and a healthy environment. It recognizes the collective responsibility to take immediate action and advocates for policies that prioritize both human rights and climate action.
Human Rights as defined by the PHR Act 1993 means rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of an individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by courts in India, i.e., Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR); International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); International Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination; The Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
The 42nd constitutional amendment 1976 introduced the principle of environmental protection in an explicit manner into constitution through introduction of Article 48A and Article 51A (g). Article 48A part of the Directive Principle of State Policy provides that “State shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.” Additionally, Article 51A(g) specifically stipulates the “fundamental duty of the citizens to protect and improve the natural environment which includes forests, rivers, lakes, wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.” Under T.N. Godavarman Thirumalpad v. Union of India & Ors. (1997), The Supreme Court ruled that both the state and its residents have a fundamental duty to preserve and protect their natural resources. The recent judgment obliquely makes way for an enforceable right, and a potential obligation on the state unless the same is overturned by an act of Parliament.