“The Economic and Social Council is at the heart of the United Nations system to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. It is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals.” (Source: https://ecosoc.un.org/en/about-us)

• The World in Flames: Protecting Forest from Wildfires

In the year 2021 over 93,000 km² of tree cover was lost to wildfires globally – that is an area of roughly 300 km by 300 km (MacCarthy et al., 2023). Roughly estimated, this area could potentially produce a yearly oxygen amount enough for more than 150,000,00 people (Nix, 2018). There is no doubt about the usefulness of trees and forests for our ecosystem. But then why do we have to witness the distressing news reports each year about even bigger wildfires than compared to the year before? Reasons contributing to this disastrous trend are e.g. rising temperatures which are increasing the intensity and frequency of wildfires (MacCarthy et al., 2023). A natural decline of wildfires over the next few years can therefore not be expected. 

Pressing questions need to be answered. What can be done to reduce wildfires or limit their effects? How can the UN community help each other fighting against wildfires? What can be done to make up for lost vegetation each year? One thing is clear, we have to act quickly or the world will be, indeed, in flames.

Mac Carthy, James; Richter, Jessica; Tyukavina, Sasha; Weisse, Mikaela & Harris, Nancy (2023, August 29th). The Latest Data Confirms: Forest Fires Are Getting Worse. World Resource Institute.

Nix, Steve (2018, January 8th). How Much Oxygen Do Trees Produce? Available Tree Oxygen and Human Consumption. ThoughtCo.

• Promoting Air Quality in Urban Areas

Bad air quality is a widely spread problem. One world region that struggles with particularly hazardous air quality is Southern Asia.Especially big cities like New Delhi (india), Lahore (Pakistan) or Dhaka (Bangladesh) suffer nearly constantly from extreme levels of particulate matter (PM2,5 & PM10) – levels so high that they even exceed the normal “hazardous” range given by the Air Quality Index (IQAir, 2023). This has not only an effect on visibility but more dangerously on health. Exposure, especially to fine particles (PM2,5), which means they are getting deep into the respiratory and blood system, can cause all sorts of illnesses. In India, life expectancy is reduced by 3,2 years for people exposed to particulate matter in high concentration (Chatterji, 2021).

The sources for air pollution are manyfold: Cars/motorbikes, climate change, smoke for burning fields outside of cities and many more. Unfortunately, just restricting the usage or access of cars and motorbikes in the city can not always be the solution. Reducing the amount of cars in cities of developed countries that have effective alternative transport systems (such as train, metro) is already challenging. In many developing countries (such as India, Bangladesh or Pakistan), motor vehicles are the only option to get around in the city. But then how can we ensure good air quality everywhere? 

Chatterji, Arpan (2021). Air Pollution in New Delhi: Filling the Policy Gaps. ORF Occasional Paper

IQAir (2023, November 13th). World’s most polluted cities. IQAir.

“The Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and making recommendations on them. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year.” (Source: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/about-council)

• Ensuring the Human Rights of Displaced People in the Context of Climate Change

On November 10th 2023, the Australian Government announced an agreement made with the island state of Tuvalu that it would grant 280 visas (“to live, work and study in Australia”) to Tuvalu citizens per year as the island faces increasing threats of rising sea levels (BBC, 2023). On the one hand, it seems hard to believe that those agreements are already needed, on the other hand it is important to seethat such international arrangements can be agreed upon. Although arguably, this deal only encompasses roughly 11,000 people (the entire population of Tuvalu).

A more pressing issue is climate induced movement of people on a larger scale both nationally and internally. In September 2021, the World Bank issued a new report estimating that potentially 216 Mio. people would be forced to relocate domestically until 2050 (World Bank, 2021). Unfortunately, this predominantly affects countries of the global south which hardly contributed to the dramatic effects of climate change. Cross-border migration in the context of climate change is also expected to rise. These displaced people are especially vulnerable. Ensuring their human rights will become a pressing issue that is yet to be resolved.  

BBC (2023, November 10th). Australia offers climate refuge to Tuvalu citizens. BBC.

World Bank (2021, September 13th). Climate Change Could Force 216 Million People to Migrate Within Their Own Countries by 2050. The World Bank. 

• Discussing the Possible Right to an Unimpaired Nature for Future Generations  

The prospect of a potential right of future generation to an unimpaired nature is intriguing. And it appears to be rather philosophical at first glance. Intergenerational equity, for example, describes the concept of fairness between the current living generations and generations yet to come. From this perspective it would be “fair” or “right” to respect the future generation’s possible wish to live on a planet with nature, ecosystems and biodiversity just as we are able to enjoy them now. Furthermore, current generations would arguably also profit from such a focus on future generations. In the effort to preserve our planet we would potentially benefit from more vigorous legislation. 

On the other hand, can we even predict what future generations would want? We can only assume that in a 100 or 250 years time people would care about an unimpaired nature. It might be more practical to focus on strategies of how we can change the effects of climate change and how we can create a society that is respecting the planet’s boundaries Also, it will be rather difficult to ensure accountability in this agency problem.

So, does a new human right to an unimpaired nature make sense? If so, how should it look like?